Fighting With A Ghost
by Jude Rigby
Summary: Castle and Beckett are asked to consult on a case where the victims have a connection with part of the history of the criminal investigation procedure and they use the past to find the killer. At the same time they try to solve the murders in time for their weekend vacation with their daughters in DC. Twenty-first in the Beware Of Darkness series. Caskett pairing. Complete
1. Prologue- Made The Decision

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: Because this chapter is so short I'll be posting the next one in a few hours so look out for it then if you'd like to continue!

A/N #2: The title of this story is a lyric from the song _Abandoned Love_ written by Bob Dylan, the version I've taken it from is a demo sung by George Harrison. The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _Looking for You_ by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, from Paul's _Young Boy_ single.

Made The Decision

The last fake tuft of grass took a final adjustment from the tweezers in hand before the artist was satisfied. Grabbing the blue fabric they placed it down in the black area already prepared for it. With the water in place there was only one more thing left to prepare the scene and they put it down.

Considering what was there they nodded firmly and then stood, going to what was needed. "I can't pay proper homage," they spoke to themselves. "Without the players set."

With that they began to walk back and forth between the work bench and table until everyone was ready. They studied them closely before they picked up the first figure and then spoke to it, "The most important… you'll go here…"

The figurine in the water they nodded and then said with a heavy laugh, "You're not there yet but you'll be soon enough. But it's hard to decide where I'll take you… there's more than enough water though. All around…"

The next figurine they then placed next to the shore and said, "So close and so far but I can't let you get to this point. Everything has to go well. Though of course…" They paused then there as they needed to make sure that the figurine would stay in place. "Of course I wish you would be there to see your tortured face," they said before stopping and laughing. "Oh that would be sweet, so sweet… But never mind, knowing that you will have that on your face at some point is enough."

Turning to the rest of the figurines they frowned and said, "And the rest," as a suffering sigh escaped them as well. "But you will all be important too. First you, I don't know you but you both intruded so you must be a part of this."

After that figurine was ready another was going next to it and they grumbled at having to put them so close. But the two were a set and they rolled their eyes, "Keep coming together, oh if only they hadn't gotten in contact with you." With that they then reached for the final one and nodded as they breathed out, "God, if only you could have known what would happen when we met…"

With the last one in place they stepped back, studying the scene that was lit by the single light in the room. A wide smile on their face they laughed as loudly as they could, clapping their hands together until they were literally weeping in their mirth. "Oh, if only, if only…" they spoke, nodding their head before leaving.

Going over to the lights they flicked them on and once they could see again they headed to the computer next to the small bed. Sitting they made a final check of the photographs they used as reference though they didn't bother to make sure the figurines corresponded; they already knew they were correct.

A phone underneath the materials used to make the clothing for all the figures began to ring and they ran over to it, their face lighting up at the sight of the number. "Hello?" they answered. After listening to the person on the other end, they became excited and said, "When… now? Yes thank you that was all I needed to know I'll be interviewing them now. I'll keep you off record of course."

Hanging up the phone they went to the scene, the diorama perfect in the image of murder that it made that they'd been dreaming of for so long. After covering it with a white length of cloth they were leaving, striding through the hall to reach the greater world where they could finally put everything into order.

Reaching their car they then stowed what was in their hands and got into the driver's seat, taking off at a speed not fast enough to get them stopped but fast enough to reach where they needed to be to make that diorama real.


	2. All My Bags Are Packed

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: Was great to get the feedback I did for the last chapter so I will get to my thank you for that right now! vetgirlmx (Great that you think this one's disturbed, as you put it, and yeah having a plan like that makes them a lot more dangerous. And I'm really glad already you think this one should be good. And interesting idea on the five murders, you'll have to see how that goes!) and Guest (Happy to see your reaction to a new story! And it's great you thought this was a fantastic start for this story, hopefully it will be unique! Of course I'm pleased you're looking forward to more, I hope you'll continue to enjoy it as it continues. And again you're welcome for sharing!). Thanks so much for the reviews, very grateful you took time out to write out what you thought about it, loved reading them both!

A/N #2: The lyrics in this chapter are from the song I'll See You in My Dreams written by Gus Khan, the version I take directly from is sung by Joe Brown during the Concert for George performance. I feel it's a beautiful version as it's sung as a kind of goodbye for George and the footage from that concert is up on YouTube for anyone who'd want to check it out.

A/N #3: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _Leaving on a Jet Plane_ written by John Denver.

All My Bags Are Packed

Parting very slowly from his wife Castle whispered, "I want more time."

"I know love," Beckett said softly, caressing his cheeks with her hands. "But let's take what we have."

With a quick nod Castle leaned down and kissed her yet again before he began to move with her to slide within her body. Breathing heavily as they were fully and completely joined he kissed her again and harder before he began to move at the same time. He felt her moan as he groaned with her and soon after felt her starting to move with him until they began to thrust together. He moved then from her lips to her neck, kissing all around it until he focused on her pulse.

Tilting her head back as she gasped heavily Beckett then held onto him as tightly as she could while she felt him soon making a bruise from the force of the way he sucked on her. As he proceeded to go down to her breasts she closed her eyes, trying to put that moment to memory while he suckled hungrily at her. From the way he was taking her body and both mounds she could easily tell that he was doing the same too. She had no idea how long they were making love but very soon she could feel her orgasm reaching her and hoped that he was feeling the same too.

As Beckett cried out her ecstasy when she finally broke Castle was right after her and they both took their pleasure eagerly though not without some disappointment marring the edges of their consciousness. But they were soon calming down and nearly slumping on the bed together, kissing frantically.

When they'd slowly pulled away after the second kiss Beckett was about to speak; more than prepared to ask him to make love to her again; when the alarm on her phone rang and she groaned with him in disappointment. "Tonight we won't have an alarm," she tried to tell him.

"I know," Castle said, brushing his lips to hers before he then got off of her carefully. He moved to stand next to the bed, taking his wife's hand before they walked quickly to the bathroom while she was setting another alarm. He didn't ask how much time they had, only led her into the shower as soon as the alarm was ready. He pulled her tightly into his arms before they were kissing underneath the hot water. He was tempted to spend their entire shower doing that but she soon stopped him and they cleaned one another off before she turned off the water. "No time?" he asked as he stepped out and grabbed her towel.

"Sorry, I wish we did though," Beckett replied as she stepped into it and watched him dry her off. She did the same with him once he'd finished with her body and then led the way out into the bedroom where they took their clothes to the bed and got dressed. "So last night you'll remember," she said to him with a smile.

"I think I will," Castle said, smiling himself as he couldn't help recall how hard he and Beckett had fucked one another the night before. It was the first of February and he was leaving after the girls were in school for Atlanta where he'd be having his first book signing for the Nikki Heat graphic novel that afternoon. "And this morning. But Kate," he then told her seriously. When she turned to him he said, "We've been joking about me remembering us since I'm not going to be gone that long but I beg you-"

"I won't forget you Rick," Beckett told him, serious as he'd been. "I can't, not when I'll see the girls constantly. And I basically know all the men there are here in the Hamptons."

"But if someone new comes along?" Castle asked.

Going to him since she was fully dressed and had the time to Beckett put her hands on his chest and slid them up to wrap her arms around his neck telling him, "I won't forget you because we'll be together at night."

Castle wanted to comment on that but he knew his wife wasn't kidding and he leaned down, sharing a quick kiss with her before they parted at the sound of the alarm. "Can I chuck that out the window?" he asked as he had to let her go to turn it off.

"No and the girls are going to be late if we don't go," Beckett told him easily. "Do you need to get anything in your suitcases?"

"I'm ready," Castle said before he went over to get them while she was walking to the door. He took them as far as the stairs before he followed her to Julia's room where she pushed him ahead of her.

Beckett smiled slightly when he glanced at her in surprise but wasn't taken aback when he nearly ran to their oldest's bed.

Opening her eyes as she heard someone calling her name Julia looked up at and smiled when she saw her father before she sat up in a rush and looked saddened. "Daddy," she said as she wrapped her arms around him.

"It's okay," Castle said quickly, looking at Beckett with his eyes slightly widened.

"He doesn't leave yet sweetie," she then said to their daughter. "We still have breakfast with him."

"Okay," Julia said, reluctantly letting him go. "Are you gonna make breakfast?"

"I was planning on it," Castle told her with a slight nod. "Why?"

"Will you brush my hair and make a braid today?" Julia asked shyly.

"Of course, for you sister too if she wants," Castle said with a smile as he kissed her forehead.

"It's alright," Beckett quickly said to Julia as she looked at her. Sharing a quick kiss with her she then said, "I know you want to spend as much time with him as you can and I don't blame you."

"Okay, I can get dressed now," Julia said, smiling at them.

"Come downstairs when you're ready okay?" Castle told her as he stood up. "I'll do your hair while you're sitting at the island." When Julia nodded he and Beckett then left and went over to Eliza's room, smiling as Rita raised her head from the end of the bed. "Me again?" he asked his wife softly.

"Of course," Beckett said simply, watching him going over.

After he had the net off the side of the bed Castle was startled when he was able to easily wake up Eliza. "Hey sweetheart," he told her as she jumped up and hugged him. "So you remembered too."

"Don't go Daddy," Eliza said softly.

"You'll see me in DC," Castle told her. "For our vacation remember?" He was relieved when the toddler smiled a little and he kissed her forehead telling her, "I'm going to make breakfast but your mom will bring you downstairs so I can do your hair; yours and your sister's. Is that okay?" When he got a nod and a smile he kissed her cheek before leaving her with Beckett to head downstairs to begin, smiling when the dogs followed after him closely which he appreciated as he took his suitcases to the foyer.

The second that she was dressed Julia hurried downstairs with her brush though she knew she should probably check and see if Eliza was ready to go down. But she wanted to spend as much time as she could with her father and thinking of that she ran straight down the hall to him where she could see him in the kitchen.

"Julia you shouldn't-" Castle started to say as he looked up to see her running towards him. But by the time he reached that last word she was throwing her arms around him tightly and pressing her cheek against his side. "It's not time yet," he said, smiling slightly as he hugged her back. "And I have to get this last pancake, help me?"

"Sure," Julia said though she was reluctant to let him go. "I should have waited but I didn't want to."

"It's alright," Beckett said then as she came down the hall to them with Eliza on her hip. "I thought you might do that."

"Daddy," Eliza said in a slightly whimpering tone of voice, reaching out for him.

"I'm almost finished sweetheart," Castle told her soothingly as he cupped her cheek gently. "When I am I'll go ahead and do your hair and your sister's too."

Beckett set Eliza down on one of the two chairs at the island and pressed a kiss to her forehead before saying, "So it's Friday today."

"Yeah, are we going to do something on the weekend?" Julia asked.

"I don't know," Beckett said, looking at her husband.

"You can plan to do something," Castle said quickly though he hadn't seen that she was looking at him. "In fact I want to help you decide to do something."

"But you aren't here then Daddy," Eliza told him with a frown.

"I know but maybe if you know I agree with what you're going to do you'll be excited for it," Castle told her. "So my mom will be here, what do you think?"

Smiling as the girls looked at one another Beckett said, "It'll be cold so you can rule out swimming."

"Maybe we could… go to the dog park?" Julia began to say before she finished speaking with her idea.

"Oh… is that okay Daddy?" Eliza asked.

Placing the last chocolate chip pancake on the stack Castle turned off the stove before he then said, "I think that that is a wonderful idea as long as it's not too cold or snowing."

"Can we go see the horses?" Julia asked softly as her father ushered her to the other chair.

"Of course," Castle said simply though he was speaking a little absently as he watched Beckett going to the stove. "Love-"

"I can handle the eggs," Beckett said, smiling at them. "Get their hair ready."

"Sure," Castle said before he turned to the girls. "Who's going to be first?" He couldn't help laugh slightly as the two shared a glance and said, "Let me start with who has the shorter hair."

Having turned so she could watch them Beckett smiled as her husband talked to the two while he was putting their hair into French braids. She could tell, from looking at their daughters, that he was putting them at ease slightly and she was grateful for it. She had to focus her attention then on the eggs so they wouldn't need to rush through breakfast and once she had finished she took the bowl they were in to the table where the girls were finishing setting it with their father's help. "You did a great job," she told him as she studied their braids which were slightly different.

"I had to do the best I could," Castle replied as he took Eliza over to the chair he or Beckett normally sat on before she stopped walking. "You and your sister can sit with me-" he began to tell her.

Shaking her head Eliza said, "I wanna sit with you Daddy."

Looking at Beckett then Castle glanced back down at their youngest and said, "You mean you want to sit on my lap?" At her nod he looked back at his wife and when she smiled he said, "Okay, then let's eat."

Once they had gathered around the table the girls were quiet for a moment before Castle and Beckett looked at one another and then began to talk about the weekend again in an attempt to distract their daughters. It worked but when they had finished the two were quiet again as they watched their parents begin to clean up.

"Alright let's go and get you two ready for your walk," Castle said as Beckett gently squeezed his hand when they saw their daughters were standing at the entrance to the kitchen. He held his hands out to them and once they'd taken them he led the way over to the foyer. "Now I want to say goodbye to you here instead of the school. Is that okay?"

"Yeah that way everyone else doesn't see," Julia said, directing the rest to her sister who looked like she was slightly confused. She then turned to their father who'd sat on the bench in front of them and as soon as she could she threw her arms around his neck as tightly as she could saying, "I'll miss you so much Daddy. I love you."

"I love you too sweetheart," Castle told her seriously, stroking her hair gently as he held her with his free arm. "And believe me I'll miss you and your sister every second."

"And Mommy too," Eliza said, going over so he could hug her as well. "And I love you Daddy, lots and lots," she said a little sadly.

"I love you Eliza," Castle said, kissing her temple. "Give me a kiss though," he told them both. After he'd shared one with them both he told them, "Remember that the best you can because I'll be doing that when we talk."

"I will Daddy," Eliza said, Julia agreeing quickly.

"We need to go love," Beckett said softly to them.

"She's right, I don't want you late because I couldn't let you go," Castle said when they both looked like they were going to protest. "One last hug though before we're doing that at school." He smiled when the girls giggled softly and hugged them together as tightly as he could before he kissed them both. He then helped Beckett in getting their outer layers on before they got their own and then left, heading over to the Foster's house as fast as they could all walk.

"Hey," David said, smiling as the family approached them. "You're ready?"

"Yeah we need to go so they won't be late," Castle said, hoping his friend wasn't talking about his leaving.

"How're they doing?" Rebecca asked Beckett as they all started to walk, the girls remaining with Castle as David walked with Mari next to them.

"Okay for the time being," Beckett said softly. When she felt Rebecca's hand on her arm she looked over at her and smiled a little before saying, "How's Dani?"

"Very good," Rebecca replied as they looked at her just barely year old daughter. She kissed her temple and then said to Beckett, "And you?"

"Fine," Beckett said firmly before looking over at the others, specifically her daughters and husband.

"Are you going to get to do fun stuff?" Julia was asking her father.

"I told you girls," Castle said with a smile at them. "I'll have time and I'll look around in the cities and I'll get you something nice."

"No Daddy," Eliza said. "Just postcards."

"Right, I almost forgot," Castle said as they were nearing the school. "But I will get those for you." He couldn't continue as at that moment they were heading into the elementary school and to Eliza's classroom.

"We'll head upstairs now," David said to the others. "Rick, safe trip and we'll see you."

"Thanks man," Castle replied, shaking his hand firmly before he was hugging Rebecca quickly and playfully pinching Dani's cheek to her giggle. He was surprised when Mari hugged him but guessed that it was because she knew her friend was sad at his going. "I'll miss seeing you in the mornings Mari but make sure Julia still has fun when you see her okay?" he asked her seriously.

"I will," Mari replied in the same tone. "Have a nice trip."

Nodding Castle watched with his family as the Fosters left them and he then turned to Eliza saying, "So, who do you want to take you inside?"

"You Daddy," Eliza exclaimed. She then turned to her sister and said, "At recess?"

"Yeah we'll play… something," Julia said with a smile as they quickly hugged. "Bye!"

"I'll pick you up after," Beckett said as the toddler hugged her next. She leaned down then and kissed her on the cheek before she murmured that she loved her and let her go with Castle. Holding Julia's hand she smiled slightly and then turned to the little girl as she hugged her tightly around the waist.

"Alright you can play now," Castle said after getting her coat off. "And I hope you have a lot, a lot of fun." He smiled down at her as she did so and then leaned down, hugging her close. "I love you Eliza and I'll see you tonight, I can't wait to talk to you."

"Don't be sad Daddy," the toddler told him though she looked a little upset herself. "And talk to Mommy too."

"I will and like I keep saying, we'll see each other in DC," Castle told her.

"Yeah, I can't wait," Eliza said with a wide smile. "I love you too Daddy."

With a final hug Castle stood up and let her go before watching her go to a table where a few of her friends already were. Waving to her with a wide smile once she was sitting down he tried not to feel too saddened before joining Beckett and Julia outside and then going with them up to the second floor.

When they were at her classroom door Julia turned to her father and threw her arms around him tightly; much as her sister had done. "I love you Daddy and I'll miss you too," she told him again. "But I hope you can have a little fun until we get to you."

"I'll do my best. And I love you Julia," Castle replied, kneeling and kissing her on the cheek before they embraced. He then murmured in her ear, low enough so his wife wouldn't hear, "Watch out for your mom for me."

"I will," Julia whispered softly to him and smiled at him when he pulled away from her. She kissed his cheek then and squeezed him a final time before they let go of one another. "Bye Mommy," she said as her mother hugged her.

"Goodbye sweetie, I'll definitely be there for your dance class," Beckett told her. She smiled as her daughter kissed her cheek before she did the same and said, "Try to pay attention and have a great day."

"You too Mommy," Julia replied. She then smiled a little sadly at her father before she left them to hurry into her room, hoping her mother would be alright.

Without a word Castle took his wife's hand and they walked back in silence to their home. When they rounded the block and came to their street he paused in mid step, seeing the taxi that he'd called for his trip into the city and JFK at the curb in front of their house. He felt a gentle squeeze to his hand and smiled at Beckett before they walked over to the car.

Watching her husband talk to the driver for a moment, she asked him, "How much time do you have?"

"Only about… ten minutes," Castle replied grimly as they walked into the house once the gate was open. Since his suitcases and carryon were ready to go he turned to her and said, "Mind if I say goodbye to them first." When Beckett merely smiled and shook her head he kissed her cheek and then sat down on the bench, whistling to the dogs who'd come to greet them when they'd entered the house.

Beckett couldn't help smiling once more as she watched the way her husband scratched Macca's and then Rita's heads, letting them lick his chin. When he stopped and let them go she kept her eyes on his when he approached her. "You don't want to go out first?"

"No," Castle replied, embracing her. When she pressed closely to him he pressed his cheek against hers and murmured into her ear, "We'll talk later tonight."

"Hmm, to test the waters?" Beckett asked, trying to smile. When they parted she let him go to take off her gloves before cupping his cheeks. "I love you Rick," she told him seriously.

"I adore you Kate and I love you too," Castle said. They kissed gently then before parting and looking into each other's eyes before he closed the gap between them again and they began to kiss almost furiously as they grasped tightly to one another. His heart thudding in his chest he did his best to engrave the moment in his memory, wanting to be able to conjure the taste and feel of his wife's lips and mouth when he needed it most. They eventually needed to breathe so they slowly parted and he leaned his forehead against hers. "We should go," he said.

Beckett wasn't able to verbally respond so she only nodded before they let go of each other and she watched him go to his satchel he was taking. "Are you okay?" she asked, watching him in surprise as he looked frustrated.

"Oh who the hell am I kidding," Castle said in exasperation finally. "I'm not going to stop thinking about you love," he told her as he quickly went to her and wrapped his arms around her as tightly as he could, relieved that she was holding onto him as desperately. "There's no possible way."

"Then you and I are both alike," Beckett replied before they leaned into each other and kissed once again. They were holding each other tightly as their tongues dueled hungrily in her mouth until they needed to breathe. She was tempted to kiss him again but she remembered the time and sighed saying, "You have to go."

Looking at his watch Castle nodded and then walked with her with his luggage out to the cab where they loaded it in the trunk together. With that set he turned to her and pulled her against him again as they kissed the second they were together. " _I love you. Always_ ," he told her once they'd managed to part.

" _I love you too. Always_ ," Beckett replied with a slight smile. Their lips brushed together and she let him go, watching him get into the cab. When he looked out at her immediately she waved to him once before watching him leave her there on the curb as the taxi drove away.

When his wife was out of sight Castle sighed slightly and turned his attention ahead of him as the cab made its way to the highway. He checked to make sure that he had his phone on him and feeling it in his pocket he relaxed though he still couldn't shake the gloom filling him at the memory of his wife standing alone as he'd left. Leaning his cheek on his palm he tried not to think about how long it would take until he could finally see her again and instead the trip he had ahead of him.

The taxi gone Beckett turned to the house and strode rapidly as she'd already thought of an idea of what she would do to work out some of the frustration and melancholy at the absence of her husband that hit her so speedily, wanting to get to it as soon as she possibly could.

* * *

Nearly laying flat over Alex's neck Beckett kept her eye on the horizon as she tried to get them back to the stables without running into something that would harm them both. When the white buildings came into sight she proceeded to slow her stallion down and breathed out when he was soon walking. She patted at his neck and murmured to him a few words in Irish before a gust of wind had her shivering. Taking off one of her gloves she touched her cheek and muttered, "Damn it," as it was wet. She hadn't been crying though she had to wonder if the tears forced out of her eyes from the wind was her body's attempt to express what she was trying unsuccessfully ignore.

Beckett didn't have a chance to figure that out as she had reached the buildings and she took Alex straight to his stall where she dismounted and took care of brushing him down and feeding him after their ride. Giving him a carrot outside the stable when she finished she scratched his forehead as she knew he liked and told him softly, " _I know you didn't mind that boy, I had to try and forget_." When the stallion tossed its head and seemed to look at her she couldn't help smiling, pressing her forehead to his and telling him, " _It didn't work_." Shaking herself quickly she scratched behind his ear and then turned her attention Julius, talking to him calmly as she saddled him and they left for the trail.

Riding hard as she'd done with Alex, Beckett did her best to not wear out the stallion but she couldn't slow him down as there was something in her that wanted to exhaust herself. Finally she reached the stable again and took care of Julius as she'd done for her own horse. Standing outside his stall she spent a moment scratching at his forehead and ears before she patted Alex's neck and went outside. She took off her gloves and was about to grab her keys when she heard someone calling her name.

"Kate!" Charlie said, waving from the office building.

Startled at the man's tone Beckett hurried over to him and asked, "What is it?" checking her watch as her mind immediately had gone to her husband.

"You need to see this," Charlie told her. At her slightly panicked look he quickly assured her, "It's not Rick, just… watch," before he played the TV that he had on pause.

" _Reports have confirmed that deceased Senator William Bracken was involved in multiple unsolved murders committed by hired killer Dick Coonan_ ," the reporter on the screen said. " _The evidence, which according to sources is a tape recording of the murders being discussed by the senator and deceased NYPD detectives Raglan and McAllister, points to Bracken receiving payment from Ragland and McAllister for kidnapping mobsters in the city and forcing them to pay ransom for their release. The murders began with Johanna Beckett, mother of author and former detective Katherine Beckett_."

Seeing the picture of her mother placed next to hers Beckett breathed out shakily as she realized what had happened. For nearly five years she had wondered if there would ever be proof of Bracken's complicity in her mother's murder but had let the matter rest with the man's death and her need to protect her family from Tyson shortly after that. But she couldn't help wonder what exactly had happened to change that.

When her phone began to ring Beckett excused herself and went outside, hoping that it was Castle. But there was a slight sense of disappointment when she saw that the number was someone else; though it was someone familiar. "Espo," she said when she answered. "What the hell is going on? How did they find a tape that was Raglan's?"

"There was a fire at the brownstone where he grew up in," Esposito replied hurriedly, able to tell from her tone that he shouldn't delay relating the story to her. "When they went to get the ruins out they found a fireproof box that didn't belong to the current owners. They opened it up and found that tape."

"That's it," Beckett said in slight surprise when that was all he said.

"That was it but it's enough," Esposito said. "I'm trying to get a hold of a transcript or something for you."

Beckett hesitated for a moment before she then said, "Don't."

"Don't?" Esposito said in confusion.

"Yeah," Beckett said with a frown. "I know what he did; all I need to know is that he's recognized as my mother's killer."

"Okay," Esposito said. "Listen, Beckett why-"

"I don't need this back in my life," she replied firmly. "Not now when I'm going to be taking care of the girls."

Esposito was silent for a moment as her voice had gone up in anger slightly and he said, "Right if there's anything new-"

"Wait," Beckett interrupted him. "Montgomery."

"He wasn't mentioned," Esposito assured her. "From what I can tell from my source I talked to, Raglan and McAllister went in to see Bracken on their own. So no one knows."

"Thank you for calling Espo," Beckett said.

"Yeah, how-" he started to say.

"I'm fine but I need to call Rick, he needs to know because he's still in the air right now," Beckett said. She told her former partner goodbye before she dialed her husband's number. Upon getting his voicemail she left a message saying, "Rick, _I need you to call as soon as you can, something has come to light about my mother's case; what we've been waiting to happen_." Hoping he would get in contact with her soon she left for the parking lot and her car, driving to a local eatery near home to pick up hers, Martha's and Eliza's lunch.

Getting back inside her car she jumped slightly when her phone shook in her pocket and she took it out in a rush, seeing that it was her husband. "Hey," Beckett said with a brief smile. "Love they found a tape that incriminates Bracken," she said hurriedly before she then went on to explain what she'd learned.

"God, all these years and it was there…" Castle said after a moment of taking in what his wife had said. "But what does this mean for you?"

"Nothing, if Gates hasn't called me yet then there's nothing that's going to happen. But I'll likely be told they're closing the case," Beckett replied.

"So you can breathe easier now," Castle told her.

"I know," Beckett replied.

"But it's likely the media's going to try to look for you," Castle warned her.

"I had thought of that but I'll be alright," Beckett said. When her husband then began to speak she hurriedly told him, "And I'll keep the girls safe."

"I never doubted it; I was going to say that," Castle explained.

"Oh, thank you," Beckett replied softly. They were both silent before she then said, "How was the flight?"

"I slept," Castle said, sounding a little abashed.

"Well," Beckett said, starting the car so she could get home before she was late picking up their youngest. "You were insistent last night."

"As much as you Kate," Castle said with a smile. "I'm at the hotel, I just got dropped off; when you called I was talking to the guy who's taking me to each city in a car and is technically an aide. He's nice but had me a little on edge; he wants me to get ready this second so we can get to the bookstore on time."

"Then I should let you go," Beckett said. "You'll call at six thirty?"

"Of course," Castle replied. "I love you."

"I love you too, have fun," Beckett said, smiling when he snorted in disbelief at that. She let him hang up as she was at the school and with a check of the time she saw that she was on time, getting out and rushing inside before her daughter's class was dismissed.

Walking in the line of students Eliza smiled when she saw her mother and waved before she was allowed to go to her. "Mommy," she said lovingly as Beckett picked her up. She then slightly recoiled and said, "You smell like a horsie."

"I went riding," Beckett told her with a smile as she then set her down. "I had to make sure your daddy's horse got some exercise."

"Oh," Eliza said as they were walking out of the school. "Did Gram come home?"

"I don't know," Beckett replied when they reached the car. "I haven't been home yet." She put her daughter into the backseat before she drove them back to the house. Once they were in the garage she wasn't surprised to find Eliza having unbuckled herself out of her seat and said, "You're lucky you listen to us."

"Yeah," the toddler said, beaming at her. "And Gram is here!"

"She is," Martha said, standing in the doorway of the garage. She smiled at the squeal that Eliza gave at the sight of her and went to the car before she had her youngest granddaughter in her arms. "Hello kiddo," she told her as they embraced tightly. "How are you?"

"Happy to see you Gram," Eliza replied. "But I miss Daddy already."

"I thought you might," Martha told her as she walked with Beckett inside the house. "But it'll be President's Day weekend very soon and you'll be with him in DC."

"Yeah," Eliza said before she waved at the dogs who had run over to them. When she was down on the ground she went to Macca first, hugging him tightly around the neck and greeting him enthusiastically.

"How are you doing Kate?" Martha asked as she and Beckett hugged.

"I'm fine," Beckett replied, smiling slightly to reassure her. "I hope you're hungry, I stopped at the vegetarian place for lunch," she then said to change the subject, holding up the bag of food.

"Oh of course, Eliza," Martha said. When the toddler looked at her she said, "Let's get you ready for lunch."

"Yeah," Eliza said quickly as she gave Rita one last hug and then hurried to her grandmother. "I'm hungry."

With her mother in law's help after she'd taken a quick shower Beckett was soon sitting with Martha and Eliza; in between them; to begin eating. As they were doing so she told Castle's mother that he had arrived and she had spoken with him already.

"And how is he doing?" Martha asked, watching her daughter in law closely.

"He's fine too," Beckett replied. "In a rush as he's got an aide that's pressuring him a little so it'll be interesting to see how he does with him."

"Of course," Martha said. "So what do you have planned to do while he's gone?"

"He's letting me write," Beckett said. "We'll go over it together as soon as he has a chance and edit it as needed."

"Hmm, so I would say your relationship is serious," Martha said with a smile.

"It's likely," Beckett replied with a responding one. She then wiped Eliza's mouth and said, "He's calling at six thirty tonight so we'll need to be ready then."

"Are you saying to me Mommy?" the toddler asked in surprise. When her mother nodded she giggled and said, "I know, I will listen Mommy."

"Thank you," Beckett said, kissing her cheek. She then returned to her food as Eliza was doing the same but couldn't help think of her husband as the lack of his presence was too hard to ignore. She hoped that he wasn't too stressed out with his aide and the book signing, trying not to smile as she could almost imagine him having a conversation with her in his mind as he went through signing the books and talking to the fans. Turning to her youngest as she asked her about after lunch she leaned over and kissed her gently to focus her attention on her for the time being.

* * *

"Yeah, I'll be ready in a couple hours," Castle was saying to his aide that insisted he call him McCann. "See you," he said as he closed the door to his hotel room on the man. Sighing as he looked at his room he pushed himself off and then went over to his open suitcase as he'd only had enough time to get his outfit for the signing that had ended at five thirty. He was paying attention to the time and when he saw it was only five forty five he made a slight growl of impatience.

It was then he remembered something he'd wanted to attempt to do while he was on his tour and Castle grabbed his phone, dialing a number he had saved. "Hello, Delaney? Yeah it's me I have something I need you to do for me." He spoke to the man on the other end until he'd conveyed what he needed and then hung up, putting his phone in his pocket. Thinking of Beckett then he felt slightly guilty but he needed to do it since he had the chance; just hoping she wouldn't be mad at him for that.

Shaking himself of that thought he went to his suitcase and took out his clothes he'd be wearing the next two days in the city before he saw a note sticking against the inner side of the case. Picking it up he saw that it was a set of numbers in his wife's handwriting that he considered for a moment before the realization came to him. Getting his phone out of his pocket he went to the gallery that Beckett had locked and he was surprised when the first picture on its opening was a selfie that he and his wife had taken the previous weekend when they'd been alone in the house. The girls had been at the Foster's home so they'd discussed their Japan trip and at some point had started to kiss heavily on the couch in their office, taking that picture after.

Sighing at the memory Castle went to the next picture and then sat down hard on the bed as it was a picture of Beckett that he had not taken. She was naked on their bed and she had one of his shirts; he could tell though it was largely crumpled; held up against her breasts though her nipple of her right mound was bared. He breathed out heavily and then went to the next picture, another selfie of them before he went to the next. "Oh god Kate…" he said, shuddering heavily in pleasure. There she was completely naked, lying on her side as in the previous picture while her right hand was covering the mound between her legs. He went to a different view of the pictures in the folder and went straight to all the pictures that were the reason why it had been locked. By the time he finished he was highly aroused and he quickly closed his phone; locking the folder; looking around desperately for a distraction as he was going to need to talk to his family before leaving for the party the bookstore was holding for him in the hotel's bar.

Seeing the TV Castle lay on the bed; grunting as he moved when his erection was nearly painfully jostled; grabbing the remote from the nightstand which he turned on. He was in time for the top of the hour news on one of the news stations and wasn't surprised to see the second story was about Bracken. He watched closely, hoping that when the reporter finished speaking that would be it to the story but unfortunately his hope turned out to be in vain as the man continued speaking.

" _Attempts to speak with Ms. Beckett have been unsuccessful though there was nearly an incident close to the Castle-Beckett home in the Hamptons_ ," the reporter said.

Just as the video began Castle jumped when his phone alerted him he had a text and he watched the video out of the corner of his eye before he looked at the message. Seeing it was from his wife he answered it and went straight for his tablet in his bag, rushing to get it ready to hook up to the TV, forgetting the story as he wanted to talk to his family desperately.

* * *

"Alright class," Ms. Grey said to her students. "We're doing very well with the Mambo but we still need to work on it. Go on home and we'll come back to it tomorrow."

Julia hurried to change in the dressing room for the girls with Mari and said, "My mommy looks okay doesn't she?"

"She looks like she's stressed," a girl named Emmy said next to them.

"She can't be that," Julia said with a frown. "Maybe Eliza was not behaving." She was dressed by then so she waited for Mari to put her uniform sweater back on before they went out to her family and she went to her grandmother. "I'm so happy you came Gram," she said, hugging Martha tightly.

"So am I darling," she replied. She then turned to Beckett and said, "Are we ready?"

"Sweetie," Beckett began. "There's a story about your grandmama on the news," she began, telling her oldest exactly what she'd told her youngest about the situation they'd encountered getting to the school. "And reporters want to speak to me about it."

Pulling her mother down so she could whisper to her she asked, "Did they hear who it was?"

"They did," Beckett said. "And that's what they want to talk to me about. They're still there so we need to try and hurry home. Don't talk to them even if they try to ask you anything. Mari, you too," she said as they needed to take the little girl home. She wasn't surprised when the two girls nodded and she asked them, "Are we ready to go?" At their nods, Eliza's as well, she led the way out and down to the sidewalk where the media was, relieved that there weren't more people there than there would have been if they'd been in the city.

Holding her sister's hand Eliza tried her best to keep up with them all though soon she came to a part of the sidewalk that was slightly raised and she nearly tripped. Letting go of Julia's hand, she gasped when someone touched her arm and she looked up to see a woman with a microphone in her other hand.

"Are you okay?" the reporter asked with a smile.

"Mommy!" Eliza cried, stepping away as she suddenly felt like she'd been surrounded by the people that had been calling to her mother, unable to see her.

"Get away from her!" Beckett said angrily as she turned to find her youngest not within sight before hearing her cry out. She didn't say a word to the people who parted for her and she strode to Eliza, picking her up and going back to where Martha was waiting with Julia and Mari in hand. She felt the toddler pressing her cheek against hers and she hurried down the sidewalk, leading the three behind her to Mari's home.

"See you tomorrow," the little girl said, a little quiet after what had happened.

"Yeah, in the morning," Julia said, smiling slightly at her friend before she watched her go down to her front door.

"Come on," Beckett said, taking the little girl's hand as she had given Eliza to Martha and they'd gone ahead to the house.

"Mommy," Julia said after she and her mother had walked away from the Foster's house. "Someone was filming that."

"You noticed?" Beckett asked. When her daughter nodded she sighed and said, "That should let you know how much I love you and your sister."

"Yeah," Julia said softly as she had seen how angry her mother was at her little sister being possibly harmed or upset. They reached the house and as she watched the gate close while they walked to the front door she told her mother, "I'm glad we have that."

"Me too," Beckett said. "Do you have homework?"

"A little bit," Julia replied. "Some math and questions in my history book."

They went into the house then and Beckett helped Julia with her outer layers and followed her to the kitchen table, looking around for Martha and Eliza who seemed to have disappeared. "Martha?" she said.

"We're here, she decided what she wanted to do today," Castle's mother replied with a smile as they came down the hall from the stairs.

"I wanna make a picture with buttons," Eliza said happily. "For Daddy."

"You can make one after you finish," Beckett said as Julia looked up. She then urged her oldest to begin her homework while the rest of them gathered around the table. She helped Eliza with her picture as Martha got the girls some drinks and she enjoyed the quiet for a time until Julia was finishing up her homework.

"You're making dinner?" Julia asked her mother as she went to where she was at the stove.

"I am, some stroganoff," Beckett said absently as she was getting her mother's cookbook set. "It's been a while since I made that." She then looked at her daughter and said, "Do you want to play?"

"No, could I help?" Julia asked.

"Sure but Eliza…" Beckett said, looking over to the table

"We're making another picture," Martha said, coming over to them. "She wants to make a picture for here."

Beckett nodded and then turned to her oldest to tell her what she could do to help her cook. She went through the recipe with Julia until it was in its dish and she had her daughter help her cut some tomatoes and carrots for a salad. "Your sister didn't tell you," she said then to break up the silence as she was a little concerned about Julia. "But I went riding today."

"I thought you would do that," the little girl said, looking up at her with slight smile. "Julius?"

"After I took Alex," Beckett answered, taking the dish of stroganoff to the cleared table that Martha and Eliza had set. "I'm going to need to take them again but another day."

"You're not tired?" Julia said in slight surprise. When her mother paused in taking the salad bowl from her she realized that had been the point and she followed her back to the kitchen whispering, "Are you gonna be okay?"

"I will," Beckett said reassuringly. "I just needed to be distracted for a little and it worked."

"Because of Daddy," Julia stated.

"Because I would have been alone in the house," Beckett replied. She smiled when her oldest hugged her tightly and she laughed when Eliza rushed over to join in. "Dinner is ready," she told them to change the subject. "So let's eat!"

When they'd begun Eliza looked at her plate of food and then asked her mother, "What does Daddy do?"

"He'll likely eat in his room," Beckett said. "Before he goes to that party tonight."

"Oh," Eliza said with a slight frown.

"Don't worry girls," Martha said as she could tell that Julia was a little glum as well. "You-" she began.

"No Gram, it's 'cause it's not the same without Daddy here," the little girl interrupted.

"Why don't you two tell us how your day went?" Beckett then suggested as she knew she couldn't let them lapse into silence. She was relieved when that seemed to work and when Julia had finished about her day before going to her dance class where she met them she said, "How about we have a movie marathon tonight? Or a game marathon?"

Eliza looked over at her sister and when Julia smiled back at her she did so a little to their mother saying, "Can we talk to Daddy first?"

"Let me text him," Beckett said after pausing for a moment as she hadn't expected that request already. She sent the message to her husband and smile when he gave her a very short one in response. "Come on, he's going to be ready by the time we get to the TV." She took the girls to the family room as Martha followed them and was able to easily switch the TV to Skype.


	3. All My Bags Are Packed (Part 2)

"Daddy!" Eliza and Julia both cried when they saw him.

"Hey you two," Castle said. "Did you forget what I looked like?" he asked them teasingly.

Giggling wildly Eliza said, "We can't Daddy, there are pictures."

"You're right, there are," Castle said. "So, I want to know first-

"Wait Daddy!" Eliza said quickly.

"Did you eat dinner?" Julia asked as she knew what her sister wanted to know.

"Not yet, it was way more important that I talk to you," Castle replied. "In fact," he said thoughtfully. "I was thinking of going to _The Varsity_ and then to the party from there."

"What is that Daddy? School?" Eliza asked, having heard the word in relation to her school's sports teams.

"No," Castle said with a slight laugh. "It's a huge drive-thru restaurant and they have some of the best hot dogs. What I always love is the cashiers will ask 'what'll ya have' and they have names for the menu like naked dog or a Yankee dog," he explained, smiling when the girls giggled at the names.

"What do they mean?" Julia asked.

"The first means just a hot dog in a bun and the second is one with mustard," Castle replied. "I think I'll go there."

"Can you take some pictures?" Julia asked a little shyly.

"I've been doing that already," Castle told them with a wide smile. "I took pictures of the skyline and my hotel view so I'll have some things to show off when I get back home." He then looked back at his mother and said, "How was your day Mother?"

"Oh, finishing packing my things and the drive. I worked on some art with Eliza," Martha replied, looking at the toddler who promptly left.  
"She made a picture for you Daddy," Julia said. "I couldn't though, I was doing homework and I helped Mommy cook."

"Sounds like you were being productive today," Castle said. "That's my picture?" he asked Eliza as she was coming up to the screen.

"Yeah, see the plane?" the toddler told him. When her father nodded she said, "This is where you go next, on the beach!"  
Chuckling a little Castle said, "I am going to be driving along the coast you're right. Thank you so much sweetheart, I love it."

"And this is us and the doggies," Eliza told him as she then showed him the second picture she'd been able to make.

"Very nice," Castle replied with a smile. "Some nice colors for the dogs. How are they?"

"Good but I think they miss you too," Julia replied.

"Do you need to go Richard?" Martha asked as her son was looking at his watch.

"If I want to go out to have dinner, yeah," Castle said with a slight frown.

"You'll call us tomorrow right?" Julia then asked.

"Of course," Castle replied. "Maybe we should make it six love," he said, finally looking over at his wife for more than a glance.

"If it works for you," Beckett replied with a nod. "Say goodnight you two."

"I love you Daddy!" Eliza said hurriedly. "Night!"

"I love you too Eliza," Castle told her with a smile. "And Julia, I love you too. And for you both, sweet dreams."

"Thanks Daddy," Julia said with a smile. "I love you too."

"Mother, thanks for staying with them right now," Castle said. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight Richard, enjoy your soiree tonight," Martha replied.

"We'll talk later Rick," Beckett said as he turned to her. "I'll see you then."

"Bye love," Castle said. He waved then to them all and closed the connection before he got up to get everything ready so he could head out though he was thinking already of when he would have the chance to talk with his wife.

"So what do you two want to do until Eliza needs to go to sleep?" Beckett asked them when the screen went dark.

"Play games," Eliza said firmly.

"Go ahead and get them," Beckett said, watching then as the girls hurried over to the cabinet. She turned to Martha when she touched her arm and said, "Are you going to bed?"

"No," she said with a slight smile. "He seemed a little… subdued didn't he."

"I think he's tired and a little homesick," Beckett said. "He'd never admit that but he does miss them too," she said, nodding to the girls when her mother in law smiled.

"And you of course," Martha said. "Oh, Candyland we're going to be nostalgic tonight I see," she directed to the girls as they were walking back to them.

"We didn't play it for…" Eliza began to say.

"For a while," Julia told her. "And I picked this one," she said, setting down the Beatles version of Monopoly. She looked at her mother closely, wondering what she would say to her choice.

"You know it's likely we're not going to finish this one," Beckett said to her.

"Yeah I know," Julia replied quickly. "Can we save it and keep going tomorrow?" When her mother nodded she hugged her around the neck and then kissed her cheek to thank her before she went to help Eliza set up the other game.

After they'd started to play the toddler asked her mother, "What about 'lexis?"

"She's going to be very, very busy this weekend," Martha said when her daughter in law looked over to her. "With a paper so she'll be working on that. She'll try to call us all tomorrow at some point, she just doesn't know when yet. But she will call."  
"Why is a paper so busy?" Eliza said.

"Because she said she has to get information and you have to tell the teacher where that came from," Julia said. "Right Mommy?"

"Yes," Beckett said with a smile. "It's called citations and I had to do that too when I wrote papers in college."

"Your father as well," Martha said to the girls, moving her game piece. "He thought it tedious but it needed to be done."

"Like your gram said though," Beckett replied, taking a card for her turn. "She will call. Now let's see who'll win."

When they had finished the game Julia had won and she smiled as her little sister hugged her tightly. "Now what?"

"You need to have a bath," Beckett said, checking her watch. "And I can read your book if your sister wants to hear it too."

"I do!" Eliza said eagerly, remembering that her sister was on the second Harry Potter book that she'd received at Christmas.

"Then we should clean up," Beckett told them.

"Go," Martha told them, stopping them from touching the board game. "I'll take care of this and you three can get ready for bed."

"Are you gonna go to bed?" Eliza asked her.

"After I come up and say goodnight to you but I'll be reading myself," Martha replied.

"Come on," Beckett said. She took Eliza's hand and smiled as Julia called to the dogs to follow them. Going up to her oldest's room first, she got Julia's pajamas and other items for the bath before they went to the toddler's bedroom. While she was busy getting the tub filled she listened to them speaking behind her and once she could turn off the water she said, "Your daddy can't really give you a bath every single day you know."

"I told her, his knee," Julia said.

"I want him to," Eliza replied stubbornly, stomping her foot on the ground though it was bare.

"Eliza," Beckett said very simply but firmly. "Come here," she said, picking her up to set her down in the water. "Your sister is right; we can't let him hurt his knee."

"I know," the toddler sighed as her mother began to wet her hair as her sister was sitting across from her in the tub. "Jules, you have long legs," she told her as their knees were touching, which hadn't happened before.

"You're getting taller," Beckett said to Julia with a smile. "Pretty soon we'll have to stop this."

"Because we won't fit?" Julia asked, smiling a little.

"Yes but you have a bathtub in your room so you can still take those," Beckett replied as she watched to make sure her oldest was wetting her hair.

"Yeah but I like taking those better with Lizzy," Julia said as she rubbed her shampoo through her hair.

"Then you can take showers," Beckett said, slightly absently as she was rinsing Eliza's hair for the first time. When she had finished with her hair completely she began to wash her body before she said, "Do you need me at all?"

"No we'll play by ourselves," Eliza said firmly with a smile at her mother. She waved as Beckett sat and then turned to her sister so they could play hangman.

Looking on while the two tried to guess numerous words the other came up with Beckett was pleased to see they seemed to be distracted until she had to stop their game. "Come on," she told them when they both groaned at the same time. "I let you play for longer than usual."

"What about reading?" Julia asked hesitantly, wondering if her mother was going to say she was asking for too much.

"We can, but just one chapter," Beckett told her. She got Eliza out at that and was relieved when Julia followed then, hurrying to dry the toddler as quickly as she could. She made sure that the two were warm before she had Eliza brush her teeth and sent Julia to her room to do the same. Carrying her youngest over to the bed she set her down and waited for her to sit before she brushed out her hair.

"Here Mommy," Julia said, coming in with Macca then and a book in her arm.

"Did you bring your brush?" Beckett asked her.

"I did," Julia replied.

"Would you like me to brush your hair kiddo?" Martha said, at the doorway then.

"Sure," Julia said, setting the book down on her sister's nightstand before she handed her brush to her grandmother. As Martha brushed her hair she said with a smile, "Are you really going to go to that class?"

"Of course, they've asked me to teach so I think I should," Martha told her. "But remember tomorrow you have plans with your mother." By then she had finished and she said, "For now say goodnight so you can get to your book." She took her granddaughters into her arms and kissed them both before saying, "I love you darlings, sweet dreams tonight."

"Love you Gram," Julia said first. "I'm glad you came."

"Me too," Eliza said. "Love you Gram."

Martha smiled and kissed them both before she said to Beckett, "Goodnight Kate."

"Night Martha, we'll see you in the morning," Beckett said with a smile back. When her mother in law had left she said to her daughters, "Come on you two, one more chapter." She wasn't surprised when they rushed to her and she helped Eliza up onto the bed before she grabbed the book. "Okay, so we are on _Chapter Seven_ , _The Ministry of Magic_." She began the chapter and read through the entire thing, not surprised when she finished to find that Eliza was asleep. She smiled when Julia hugged her little sister and then moved off the bed before she then got off it herself. "Goodnight sweetie," she murmured to her gently after she'd tucked her in. "I love you." She then kissed her a second time, on the forehead, as Castle had requested she do that for him though she hadn't had a chance to tell the girls that yet. But she had the chance the next day and she stood, making sure that the toddler was still fast asleep before walking away to leave her to rest.

Outside in the hall Julia said, "Gram isn't gonna play?"

"She wants us to play alone," Beckett replied with a smile. "I don't think your gram enjoys Monopoly that much. But maybe she and Eliza will watch us play tomorrow night."

"I hope so," Julia said as they went down the stairs hand in hand with Macca ahead of them. Going to the coffee table she was surprised when her mother stopped her and she looked up at her before Beckett picked up the box. "Oh, you want to play in the kitchen?" she asked.

"No, it'll be better if we use the dining room," she answered. "That way the game will be out of the way."

"Okay," Julia replied before they went to the room and she helped her in setting up the game. After they'd made a few moves she said to her mother with a smile, "It's strange."

"Playing by ourselves?" Beckett asked. When her daughter nodded she said, "We did that all the time before your daddy came more to our place."

"And we went to his," Julia said. She looked thoughtful as her mother was moving around the board and she said after she'd bought the album _Rubber Soul_ , "Is that why you're so in love?" At Beckett's startled expression she was quick to explain, "Because you had to hide it."

"No," Beckett replied, smiling a little at that. "If it was then he and I would not have what we do now."

"Going to celebrate another wedding?" Julia supplied.

"To celebrate being married for five years," Beckett said, handing her some money since she was the bank for the game. "No it just made us a lot closer."

Julia looked thoughtful and said, "Why didn't you go with him on the tour?"

"We told you and your sister already," Beckett said gently, as they'd had that conversation several times to answer that same question. "We need to be here for you, we can't just leave. And this is different from our trip out to California last year," she said quickly as she could see her daughter opening her mouth to protest that. "Because we have no case. And I'll be able to handle things sweetie, it's just going to take a little getting used to," she said though she inwardly winced at the idea of getting used to Castle not there.

Julia frowned slightly but kept quiet before they continued with the game. She watched her mother during that time, feeling a little saddened as she watched her before she finally turned her attention more fully to the game.

After nearly a half hour of playing Beckett stopped the game and couldn't help smiling as her daughter had no objection. They left the game in the room and she turned off the light before they went together to the stairs.

Taking her mother's hand after they'd left Julia was quiet until they'd gotten to her room. "Can I write in my diary?" she asked her.

"Of course, it'll give me time to get your bed ready and help Macca get ready on it," Beckett told her.

Going over to her desk Julia pulled her diary out once she was sitting and she grabbed her pen. She thought for a moment and glanced back at her mother before she turned back to the open book and dated it first before starting to write.

 _February 1st, 2019_

 _Daddy left today to go on a tour for the new book, I was hoping it wasn't going to get here but it did. Mommy is trying to smile like it doesn't matter but I can see that she is very sad. I am too because it doesn't feel like it's the same without him here. But I hope they do talk later and he can make her smile for real. I guess school was okay, I paid attention 'cause I knew Daddy wants me to do that still but it was hard._

Pausing Julia thought about what to write next as she never really talked about school unless there was something interesting to say. But something came to her then and she continued writing quickly as she knew she didn't have too much time to do so.

 _But I just hope tomorrow it won't be too hard to do everything without Daddy. I think he told me about a saying that you don't miss something a lot until it's gone. It's like that now but I remember he's gonna come back. No, I mean we'll see him in DC and have a trip so I'm counting down to that for real. Which I need to do now, night!_

"All done?" Beckett asked, looking up as Julia put away her diary. "Easy," she said with a slight smile as she watched her daughter rushing to her calendar.

"It's two weeks until we go right?" Julia said to her mother as she looked at the days left.

"It is and it's also time for you to get some sleep," Beckett told her, taking her hand.

"Mommy," Julia said then as she hugged Macca who was at the end of the bed. "What's going to happen now? With Grandmama's case?"

"It'll be closed," Beckett said.

"Oh," Julia replied before she had to pause to climb up onto her bed. "Are you… happy?"

"Not so much happy," Beckett told her, sitting next to her. "Just relieved that it's over and people know what happened."

Nodding Julia got up on her knees and hugged her tightly whispering, "I'm glad I have you Mommy."

Unable to help the tears that pricked the back of her eyes at her daughter's tone; and not caring about them as she couldn't be unaffected by those words; Beckett embraced her daughter back and said, "I'm glad to be here for you sweetie."

"Are Lizzy and me here for you?" Julia asked then as they pulled away from each other.

"I think so," Beckett said with a smile. "And I'm grateful you are now come on, you need to sleep or you'll be too tired for our plans tomorrow." She was relieved when her daughter got back on the bed and she hugged her again once the covers were over her lap. "I love you Julia, sweet dreams tonight okay?" she told her after pulling away to look at her.

"I love you too Mommy and you have sweet dreams too," Julia said. "About Daddy?" she asked though she had a very questioning look on her face.

"I probably will," Beckett said. She shared a kiss with her and then tucked her in after Julia was lying down. She kissed her forehead and whispered, "That's from your daddy."

"Thanks," Julia said with a smile.

With that Beckett stood and then walked over to the doorway where she turned off the lights, staying for a few more seconds before she left Julia to her sleep. After she'd checked on Eliza she finally went to hers and Castle's room and closing the door she locked it behind her, looking around.

After a time Beckett shook her head and walked over to the fire to start it before she went to change into her pajamas. As she took them out of the drawer she hesitated for a moment, wondering if she wanted to do that or if she should. Finally she made a decision and she changed into them before she went to her side of the bed. Glancing at the other end she sighed and then grabbed her tablet before opening a game to spend some time there before her husband called, trying to ignore the clock in the corner of the screen.

* * *

With his pajamas on Castle felt better though he couldn't forget the women that he'd seen that night. Sighing he went to his phone and texted his wife, hoping that she was awake and ready to talk to him too.

"Yes," he said in triumph at the sight of her answering text. He grabbed his tablet and turned it on before saying, "God love I missed you."

"Really? That bad?" Beckett asked teasingly as she saw her husband on the screen.

"It was, they were all… it was because you weren't there," Castle replied with a groan. "They figured I was free game."

"Show me your hand Rick," Beckett said, not surprised when he immediately did so. "It's not I thought you took it off," she said then to him as he looked at her. "But reminding myself it's a large ring and-"

"Hard to miss," Castle said then at the same time as his wife. "To tell you the truth I felt really sorry for them."

"How did you turn them down?" Beckett then inquired.

"Asked if they wanted to see this picture I took of my daughters and you," Castle said. "I had planned to say after that that the angle of the shot was amazing but I never had to."

"Really, that was enough to scare them off?" Beckett asked with a smile.

"Yeah so it was great," Castle replied. "You're a big help love," he told her. "How're you doing?"

"Okay I was just stunned by this coming to light," Beckett replied.

"What about the fire at the house?" Castle asked. "Suspicious?"

"No the son of the family; about six; was trying to make hot chocolate in a pot and caught a napkin on fire," Beckett replied. "Straightforward and I know it is because Ryan texted me that he went to see the boy and ended up speaking to him."

"There isn't much reason for this to be a conspiracy," Castle told her.

"I know but the boys felt they needed to make sure of that," Beckett replied. "Rick?" she then said.

"Yeah?" Castle asked.

"I missed you too," she told him in a whisper.

Sighing then Castle said, "I wish I could kiss you, hold you right now. Touch you too…"

"So do I," Beckett told him. "But you know we have this."

Castle was silent for a moment before he then told her, "Thank you for the pictures they were… amazing."

Her cheeks heating up then Beckett told her, "I hoped they might help you."

"They did," Castle said firmly. "They will but… not tonight." He watched as his wife smiled and bowed her head and he said, "Are you ready to try this?"

"I don't know," Beckett said honestly. "I've never done anything like this before. But," she then said. "I'm ready to try."

For a while he and Beckett stared at each other before Castle then said, "Do something for me? Take off your shirt?"

Setting the tablet onto a holder Beckett reached for the bottom of her NYPD shirt and she pulled it off smoothly before she said to her husband, "Take yours off love."

"Should we really take turns?" Castle asked.

"No, hurry and get everything off," Beckett replied before she then got off the bed to remove the rest of what she had on. She was able to beat Castle to that and once she got on the bed she could look on as he divested his clothes. Smiling slightly as he was very erect she said, "You weren't like that down at the party were you?"

"No," Castle said once he was set on the bed again. "It happened once I got in my room. So…" he started to say. "Wait, what about you?"

"I need a little time," Beckett said. "Some time."

"Then… touch, why don't you touch your breasts for me?" Castle asked. "I'd love to see you do that."

Beckett felt a shiver run up her spine at the tone of her husband's voice and she settled back a little more on the pillows behind her to help her be able to do what he'd wanted. She reached up to herself and cupped her hands over her breasts, letting her palms brush against the nipples and she moaned softly in reaction. She had her eye at the same time on the screen, seeing that Castle was starting at her intently and the sight of that made her tremble imperceptibly. "Tell me," she told him shortly after she'd run her fingers around the peaked nubs a few times.

Swallowing roughly Castle then said, "Play with your nipples my love, the way you like me to do." He was pleased when she immediately did so and he made sure to pay close attention to what she did so he could remember. After a while he suddenly realized that his hands were running over his thighs and he jumped slightly when he then noticed that he was moving in the same manner Beckett was doing. Breathing out hard he looked at the screen again and saw her rolling her nipples with her fingers and he called out, "Stop! Wait, enough Kate," as he couldn't take it anymore just watching.

Beckett was becoming slightly breathless at the pleasure that was rising in her so it was a relief to stop for a moment as she didn't want to be alone at the point where she got off. Looking at her husband she said, "At the same time?"

"Yes," Castle said, relieved she'd made the suggestion. As soon as he could he then grasped himself in hand and once Beckett had her hand at her clit he began to move it while she did the same with hers. Grunting in pleasure at the sensation, he looked at her face before he let his eyes trail down her body. His mouth watered as he watched the way the light reflected off her skin as she shifted slightly on the bed and he could almost feel the silky texture of it under his free hand. "Kate," he said quickly when her eyes began to close.

Forcing them back open Beckett looked to him and then down at his hand, feeling a shudder of arousal go through her at the sight of his hand very firm around his length. She couldn't help but feel; in the midst of the pleasure building up inside her; a little jealous of that hand though it was a ridiculous thought. She was breathing faster as time went on and the jolt of constant joy from her sex shot up to her breasts which in turn made her entire body hot. "Can I… just watch you," she said suddenly after they'd been quiet since he'd said her name.

Castle's eyes went a little wide but he was soon able to answer her saying, "Yeah, whatever you want my love." But he suddenly got an idea and he told her, "Can you still just… brush against yourself?"

Smiling Beckett said, "I think I can."

With that Castle continued what he was doing, doing his best to keep his eyes on his wife as she watched him very closely. A few times his gaze drifted down to her fingers and he could see that every time he did that she was in fact moving them very carefully against herself. " _I adore you love_ ," he breathed out to her after one instance when he looked back up at her.

" _I love you too_ Rick," Beckett said, trying to smile but having a very hard time doing so as she was desperate to start touching herself more than she was.

Able to tell from the expression on her face what she was going through Castle let go of himself; somehow; and he said to her, "We should probably… stop for a second."

"I already am," Beckett said though she moved her hand to her thigh for good measure. "What is it?"

"No, it just feels like this might go too quickly," Castle said. "Faster than when we're actually making love." He studied her for a moment; able to see from the way she was holding herself that she was tense. He then cleared his throat and said, "You went riding."

Startled at that it took Beckett a moment to realize what he was doing with that and said, "I was…"

"Oh god, you didn't," Castle said as he soon figured out why she'd trailed off.

"I didn't orgasm," Beckett said with a sigh. "But I was… aroused."

"When?" Castle asked.

Nearly cursing the fact that he knew her well enough to know to ask that Beckett bit her lower lip to buy herself just a bit more time before she told him honestly, "In the shower."

"After I talked to you earlier this evening," Castle replied, motioning to himself.

Beckett couldn't help but smile and said, "So those pictures did their job."

"And apparently you…?" Castle started to say before he trailed off on a question.

"No, I wasn't aroused from the motion while riding," Beckett was quick to explain. "I couldn't shake the image of me riding you hard and that continued into the shower."

"I hope the bed in DC is a good one," Castle told her. "Able to withstand us."

"Pervert," Beckett said with a smile.

"I am and you cater to that so well," Castle said seriously. "But now… what do you think?"

"I think we could draw this out a little longer," Beckett told him with a slight smile. She loved that there was absolutely no need for either of them to speak at that point, that they were able to start at the same time again. She gasped a little at the first touch to herself and she closed her eyes tightly as the pleasure snaked easily and eagerly through her entire form. She gasped out her husband's name and was relieved when he said hers before she recalled they were doing that to try and keep them from stopping looking at one another. Forcing herself to look at Castle her breath shortened as she saw that he was tensing and his jaw was visibly clenching. She reached up before she knew she was doing so and proceeded to fondle her right breast with her left hand.

Hearing the renewed gasps from his wife Castle looked to her and saw what she was doing and he couldn't help it, needing to push her the rest of the way for his sanity. "Kate, love, a little more. I'm so close I need to see you come before I can come myself," he told her. "Come for me, _now_."

The strident command in that was enough to allow Beckett to let her natural instinct take over and she forgot all reason as she rubbed at her own clit with abandon. She was on her back, arching it repeatedly with each wave of ecstasy that washed over her and made her dizzy until she realized her husband was calling her name. She forced her eyes open yet again and looked on as he began to climax, making her forget what her own body was doing for a moment before it seemed to abruptly stop. But she was able to see him stop as well and she breathed out as he was panting heavily. "Okay?" she asked.

"No," Castle said with some annoyance, getting up and going over to the nightstand.

Beckett waited until she could tell that he was finished and she asked, "Could you watch me?"

"Yeah I caught your eye a few times so you saw me," Castle replied. He frowned and then confessed, "I didn't enjoy that as much as I would-"

"If we were together," Beckett said with him. She wasn't surprised when he nodded and then told him, "We'll be together soon, this is going to have to do for now."

"Doesn't really work," Castle said with a grimace.

"No, it's absolute bull," Beckett said with a sigh. "Well… did we have much else to talk about? What about your plans tomorrow?"

"Sightseeing," Castle said. "I didn't really get much of a chance to do that; I was thinking of heading to the museum of art here… High I think it's called. And I was debating visiting the Fox Theater for a tour too."

"You should, your mother would love you for doing that," Beckett said. "Can I get dressed?"

"Let's both do that, I don't want to be naked right now," Castle said.

Knowing that her husband was talking about the fact that they were going to be going to sleep Beckett didn't comment on that and instead got dressed herself as he was doing. When they were back in their beds she took the tablet from its holder and then said to him, "We decided after the dog park to go to the library."

"But Julia's reading…" Castle started to say.

"Yes but this is for Eliza," Beckett replied with a smile. "And Julia's going to write down any books that she sees."

"Tell me what you did after we talked love," Castle said, able to see then that she was becoming tired. "Everything with the girls."

Smiling Beckett proceeded to do exactly that and related what they'd done and what she and Julia had done.

"That reminds me," Castle told her when she'd finished talking about what their oldest had said about her grandmother's case. "I saw what happened when you walked home from the school with the girls."

Beckett sighed; as she'd seen the clip on her phone attached to a text that Lanie had sent; and told him, "Eliza's okay, she just got scared by everyone around her."

"At least she's okay," Castle replied. "And tomorrow you're just going to the library?" When his wife didn't reply he then said, "Downtown?"

"Yes but I'm waiting before I can commit to anything there, I want to see how long it takes us at the park and library," Beckett explained.

"I want to hear about it tomorrow, all about it," Castle said in response.

"I'll tell them," Beckett said with a smile. She tried to hold back a yawn but couldn't do it and said, "Sorry love."

"I know but we should get some sleep," Castle said reluctantly. "Tomorrow night we'll talk again okay?"

"I promise," Beckett said with a smile. "I love you Rick, goodnight."

"I love you too Kate, night," Castle said, smiling back at her as she kissed her fingertips and gestured them to him. He quickly did the same and then finally hung up the phone, getting up to turn off the light in the room so he could go to sleep. Though he wasn't sure he'd really be doing that he'd give it a shot as he knew he needed the rest.

Beckett sighed after she turned off her tablet and then got up to turn off the fire before she went back to the mattress and slipped under the covers. Turning off the light she turned towards Castle's end of the bed, closing her eyes soon after to try and fall asleep though she had the distinct impression it would take her some time before she managed to get to that point.

At the same time that his wife was trying to fall asleep; though he didn't know it; Castle got out of his bed and went to his satchel. Pulling out a small, thin book he went over to the desk in the room and then proceeded to write. He did so for a while, letting the scratch of his pen on the paper fill his room before he finally stopped and went back to the bed. Laying down he muttered about the pillow, though it was in fact fine, and he punched it a few times before he lay back again. Looking around the room he forced himself to close his eyes.

Though he was tired Castle couldn't seem to reach the point where he could relax and he finally swore bitterly and opened his eyes, sitting up. He started to reach for his phone before he hesitated a moment, looking at it. Finally he gave in and picked it up, pressing the screen a few times before he placed it on speaker as it was dialing.

Opening the light on her nightstand Beckett lay on her back and looked up at the ceiling, wondering what she was going to need to do to get some sleep. She sat up and was just about to reach for her book when her phone began to ring. "Rick-" she started to say as soon as she had answered.

"Kate, I can't sleep," Castle replied. "Call me a… call me whipped but this bed is like the Arctic, cold and unending."

"It's neither," Beckett said though she hesitated.

"It's not easy is it?" Castle asked her, catching her tone and realizing she felt the same.

"Look, we'll see each other again… in two weeks," Beckett said, turning off her light and laying down. She grimaced and said, "The word weeks is not really all that positive."

"No," Castle agreed. "But we do need to sleep, I realize love. I just can't get to the point where I'm tired enough for that."

Beckett thought that over for a moment and then said, "I think I know what we can do. Hold on."

Castle listened to the sounds of her rustling around in the background and he was tempted to ask her what she was doing. Though he held back because it was pointless, she wasn't by the phone and wouldn't answer him until she was ready either. "Kate?" he asked finally after it felt like it'd been a while since she'd last spoken.

"Sorry, I had to find it. I e-mailed you something," Beckett replied. "Go to your tablet."

"A song?" Castle asked once he saw what it was.

"Do you remember Skye and Mary telling us about what they do once in a while when she was out of town on an investigation?" Beckett asked him.

"Yeah… oh, playing a song to relax and help get them to sleep," Castle said before he recalled what she meant. "I thought you meant the… what we did before on our tablets."

"They never told us they did that. Just play the song when I say," Beckett replied, rolling her eyes.

At her direction Castle did so and was surprised to find it a song he knew but one they didn't listen to too often. He wanted to comment but the first lyrics were beginning and he could almost hear his wife in his mind telling him to listen, so he did.

 _Lonely days are long  
Twilight sings this song  
Of the happiness that used to be  
Soon my eyes will close  
Soon I'll find repose  
And in dreams you're always near to me_

Beckett got her husband to go to video on his camera as she did and she smiled at him when she saw he was searching for her already. But she didn't say a word as the next verse was being sung.

 _I'll see you in my dreams  
Hold you in my dreams  
Someone took you out of my arms  
Still I feel the thrill of your charms_

Castle wasn't exactly sure how his wife had recalled the song but it was amazingly apt and he went to the next lyrics as he was watching her intently.

 _Lips that once were mine  
Tender eyes that shine  
They will light my way tonight  
I'll see you in my dreams_

The instrumental allowed the two to murmur to one another for a moment, just inconsequential words about the song that they were soon forgetting as it continued and soon after finished.

 _Lips that once were mine  
Tender eyes that shine  
They will light my way tonight  
I'll see you in my dreams_

 _They will light my lonely way tonight  
I'll see you in my dreams_

After the music had played out Castle had a hard time speaking for a moment before he could finally say, "That's what I'll have tonight Kate."

"You will Rick," Beckett said softly. "Because I know I'll be dreaming of you myself."

"I love you," Castle murmured to her.

"I love you too," Beckett replied. They both said goodnight and she hung up the phone, turning over onto her side to put away the phone.

Doing the same in his room Castle laid on his side before he closed his eyes as he tried his best to remember his wife that night in her pleasure. He fell asleep shortly after that, more than ready to dream of her as he was luckily soon doing.

In their bed Beckett closed her eyes and was about to fall asleep when she suddenly heard someone whispering outside the door. She instantly sat up and got off the mattress, hurrying over to the doorway where she wasn't surprised to see that the girls were there, Julia holding onto her sister. "Julia, Eliza," she said. When the two turned to her she smiled and said, "You woke up?"

"Yeah I got up but I was gonna go back to sleep and then I heard Eliza was up," Julia said.

"Mommy," the toddler said, going to her and holding onto her tightly. "Can we sleep with you?"

"Yes," Beckett said. She couldn't help smiling again when both girls looked startled and she said, "Just for tonight though, you need to sleep in your own bed after this okay?" When they both nodded she called to the dogs and led them over to the bed where she set Eliza down before Julia climbed on and she joined them. She wasn't surprised when her youngest sat on her lap and wrapped her arms around her as tightly as she could. She studied them and said, "You know these two weeks will go by quickly."

"It's still a long time," Julia said in protest.

"Don't think about that," Beckett said, wondering if she could follow that herself. "Think about when we get to fly to DC and see your daddy waiting for us." She then wrapped her free arm around Julia, holding her close as she said, "And then we'll go around the city. Think of all the things you'll get to see, the museums, the zoo and we get to go back in time; as your daddy likes to tell you; to colonial times at Williamsburg."

"And we get to see that with Daddy," Eliza told her.

"Exactly," Beckett said. "So hopefully you'll remember to be excited for our little vacation."

"I am," Julia said. "But…"

"We'll see him tomorrow," Beckett replied, knowing what she meant. She gently pressed her lips to the girls' foreheads and said, "And speaking of that, he has the book for the city that we'll use but we can look at the library for something to read about it."

"No," Eliza said then. When her mother looked at her in surprise she smiled and then said, "I wanna be surprise."

"Surprised," Julia corrected. "But she's right, I wanna do that too."

"Alright," Beckett said with a smile. "But for now you two need to get some sleep okay?"

The girls looked at each other before they nodded slowly and let their mother help them lay down.

"You in the middle Eliza," Beckett told the toddler. "Julia you can sleep on the other side of her."

"What about Macca and Rita?" the little girl asked.

"They'll fit at the bottom of the bed," Beckett replied as she then worked to cover all of them. She lay down and took Eliza into her arms as the toddler was cuddling up against her and she then looked at her daughters, seeing they were looking at her. "I spoke to your daddy a little bit ago," she told them.

"Why is he awake?" Eliza asked.

Beckett couldn't help laugh softly and she answered, "He couldn't sleep so we talked a little so we would get tired."

"I thought I heard music coming from here Mommy," Julia told her.

"We listened to a song together," Beckett admitted, not wanting to lie.

"Can we hear it?" Eliza asked a little shyly.

Smiling Beckett reached over to her phone the best she could without having to let go of her youngest. Once she had it in her hand she then played the song, watching the two girls listening she kept her eye on Eliza. There was no surprise when the toddler soon fell asleep and as soon as the song was over she set back the phone. Looking at Julia she said softly, "You need to go to sleep sweetie."

"I know but is that what you do a lot, dream about Daddy?" the little girl asked.

"It is," Beckett replied.

"And he dreams about you?" Julia added.

"Of course," Beckett said.

"Will that help him feel better?" Julia asked.

"Yes but he's okay," Beckett assured her. She was surprised when her daughter shook her head no and she asked, "What is it?"

"No I know that Daddy is homesick," Julia replied firmly. "And he misses us. But you the most Mommy."

"I know," Beckett said, watching in surprise as she was getting up. She carefully let go of Eliza and once she was sure her youngest was still asleep she sat up and wrapped her arms around Julia tightly. "He loves us all you know," she said softly when they'd parted.

"I know but it's not so special that he has songs with us," Julia tried to explain. "We just listen to any songs but with you he makes them special and romantic."

Beckett smiled and then looked down for a moment before she then said to her daughter, "I actually picked out that song."  
"Really?" Julia said, startled.

"You know Skye and Mary," Beckett began to explain. At Julia's nod she continued with, "They do that when Skye is away for an investigation and it helps them feel a little less sad at being apart."

"Good," Julia said firmly. She then thought of something and said, "Will Daddy do this again?"

"Not if I can help it," Beckett said frankly. She smiled at her daughter's giggle before she tried to stifle it and said, "We talked about that and he's going to do his best not to go out on tour again."

"But," Julia said, looking thoughtful. "If he's going on a tour now for a book, don't you need to go for your books?"

"We've been asked," Beckett admitted, not surprised that the little girl had figured that out. "But your sister's been too little and we don't like to leave you."

Julia nodded and then said, "Now that we're older are you gonna go?"

"You're not older yet," Beckett said before she smiled at her. "But we may."

"For your book you're writing now?" Julia asked her.

"This fall… maybe," Beckett repeated. "Our agent talked about us going on a tour of the West Coast at the end of September, we'd be gone for… maybe a couple weeks."

"You should go," Julia said quickly.

"We don't need to answer yet," Beckett replied. "And we want to talk about it with you and your sister together when we're back at home."

"Can I say one thing Mommy?" Julia asked her. When she'd nodded she then told her, "I think you should and that Grandpapa could come stay with us."

"That was two things," Beckett told her in amusement. "But we'll see and I'll talk to him. There's still a long time to go until September, it's only the first of February."

"I know but still," Julia said. She then hugged her mother as tightly as she could saying, "Lizzy wouldn't mind and neither would I."

"Okay, you need to go to sleep," Beckett said with a slight laugh. "Why are you so insistent?"

"Just 'cause I don't want you to be alone again," Julia said softly. She was slightly surprised when her mother hugged her and then embraced her back saying, "And so you can show everyone your book."

"That's your daddy talking," Beckett said with a smile. "Now come on, we need to get some sleep or we're not going to be able to do anything tomorrow."

Julia smiled and then shared a kiss with her mother before she moved to lie down on the other side of her sister. She watched Beckett cover her and then murmured a goodnight to her before closing her eyes. She could tell her mother was feeling slightly better so she herself did as well, though she couldn't help think about their trip with her father once they met him in DC as she fell asleep.

Making sure the little girl was sleeping Beckett didn't lay down herself until she was sure her daughters were both resting. Laying down herself she held Eliza again and watching the two she smiled slightly, closing her eyes before she soon nodded off with them. Her dreams soon began and there was little surprise to find herself regressing to memories of her and Castle, coming together and indulging in their love as she spent that first night apart from him sleeping peacefully as she still managed to be in his company the entire time.


	4. Until I Call You

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: I was pleased getting feedback for the last chapter so will definitely get straight to me thank yous for that! TORONTOSUN (Great you noticed Beckett protecting the girls, definitely had to have that happen as I couldn't see her not doing that. And yeah, Castle definitely saw that so he's proud of her, you're right. I was so happy that you enjoyed the love scene so much and that you thought it was well written as writing that kind isn't my forte, lol. And I'm glad you liked that the girls couldn't sleep without Castle there!), MaineZoe (I'm glad that you were sad at the idea of Castle and Beckett being apart for so long, just because I'd been hoping readers would feel that way not because I wanted you to be sad, lol. And really nice you think it's a great beginning to the story!) and vetgirlmx (It was nice to read first off you thought the last chapter was pretty great, always try for that. And I thought readers would think them being sad would be different, it's why I decided to try it out, great you thinks that's what makes them stand out. I figured that the girls would definitely notice how they're sad, but of course the rest of the family would too as well since as you said it's not hard to notice. And it's not the first time they've been apart since they were married, but the first time for so long. So yeah, it's going to be pretty hard on them both. And great that you thought Julia's diary entry was interesting and that you want to see more of those! Oh and I am so happy that you like the idea of them going on book tours together 'cause I'd been thinking of doing that when I wrote this story so decided to throw the idea out there and see what readers think, lol, so I'm glad you commented on it! And of course it's great that you can't wait to see what happens next which you don't need to do anymore!). Thanks so much for the reviews, I loved reading them and as always I appreciated the time taken to write them out and send them to me!

A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _No More Lonely Nights_ by Paul McCartney, from the soundtrack album for his movie _Give My Regards to Broad Street_.

Until I Call You

"Girls," Beckett was calling. "I'm not going to tell you again, breakfast is ready and it's rude to make your gram wait."

Martha looked at her daughter in law, since she'd sat at the table once Beckett had set the pot of oatmeal on the table. But before she could comment on it she then heard the sound of the two running down the hall and she smiled as they soon appeared telling them, "Nice of you two to join us."  
"Sorry, we were looking at the art supplies," Julia explained as she sat on her chair while Beckett was helping her sister into her chair. "We wanted to make another picture for Daddy."

"How long now Mommy?" Eliza asked as Beckett was then dishing out the oatmeal.

"Hold on," she replied as she finished up with the food. When she'd sat in her chair she then helped Eliza put some of the brown sugar and apples onto her oatmeal before she went to her phone. She recalled the date, the sixth of February, and then said, "There's nine days left until we go."

"And what were Richard's plans today?" Martha asked as she girls looked pleased at the number.

"He's on his way right now to Richmond," Beckett said. "Since he has a book signing there later and he was able to confirm with me that they're going to stay until tomorrow night since there's one more bookstore that paid for him to go. Then they'll head to Baltimore, stay there and on the ninth he'll head to DC and there he'll travel out to the suburbs until the fourteenth."

"He'll be busy," Martha said, smiling slightly at the girls.

"I still miss him," Julia said, her sister nodding. She looked at Eliza and then said, "But I'm glad he gets to see everything he is."

"Yeah, he gets to travel," Eliza said firmly. "But I miss him too."

"We all do," Beckett said reassuringly. "For now though you need to hurry and eat so we won't be late getting you to school."

"What will you do today Gram?" Julia asked after they'd eaten for a while.

"I have an appointment at a spa that your mother set up for me," Martha answered.

Beckett wasn't surprised when both girls turned to her and she explained, "Your daddy suggested it to me and I agreed, she hasn't been there for some time and she's been helping me a lot lately."

"Why don't you go Mommy?" Eliza asked.

"I'm going to take a run with the dogs," Beckett said, smiling then as Rita nudged at her elbow. "And visit with Rebecca."

"You didn't answer Mommy," Eliza said with a frown.

"I don't really need to," Beckett said.

"I think you should just tell them Kate," Martha said. When her daughter in law looked at her in surprise she said, "I was able to discern why."

Beckett nodded and then said, "It's… stupid but I don't want to go and-"

"Oh! I know," Julia said quickly, interrupting her mother. "Because you don't want to look… relaxed?" When Beckett nodded she continued with, "And smell like roses if Daddy's not here for that."

"I won't either," Eliza said firmly.

Beckett couldn't help smiling and said, "I think you mean the word wouldn't and I'm glad you two can understand." She then looked at their bowls and saw they were nearly done so she said, "I'll also write, just a little because I want to finish the chapter I'm on."

"You seemed to have gone through it quickly," Martha said in surprise.

"I may have," Beckett replied. She smiled and then said, "Rick and I had started it already before he left. So I was able to finish it so fast because of that." She stood up then as everyone had finished and told them, "Come on, we need to go."

"Has Daddy liked what you wrote?" Julia asked as she followed her mother over to the sink with her bowl in hand.

"He has," Beckett said, unable to help smiling at the memory of how Castle had kept telling her since Monday that she could easily write her own books. He'd then countered that by begging her not to as he'd never had as much fun writing than as he did with her. She was distracted from her thoughts by arms around her and she smiled at Eliza saying, "I'm not going to stop writing with him."

"What if you wrote your own books though?" Julia suggested.

"She's right," Martha said, bringing the last of the glasses over. "You very well could do that. And Richard too."

"We'd need to see if we wanted to," Beckett said.

"Mommy," Julia said sternly. "You've got a secret."

"I told him what you said; that he could write his own book too," Beckett said. "And he said he might write down ideas but he'd concentrate on our books."

"Will you say if you do that?" Eliza asked her.

"It doesn't worry you two?" Beckett asked her daughters as she dried her hands. "Your daddy and I not writing together?"

"No, you still will," Julia replied when her mother led her and Eliza to the foyer.

"You're smart then," Beckett told them with a smile. "Eliza, come here and I'll help you get ready." With that she and Martha assisted the girls until they were ready and she threw her own coat on before putting on her scarf and gloves while the two were saying goodbye to the dogs. "Everyone has everything?" she asked them. "Homework and lunch?" she then directed to Julia.

"Yep, I'm ready to go," the little girl replied firmly. She took her mother's hand as Martha and Eliza left the house ahead of them and said, "Can I ask something?"

"I'm fine," Beckett said as she locked the door once they were on the porch. "But like you said, I miss him. Though he told me to call him when I finish the chapter no matter what."

Julia giggled and said, "Daddy would say that." When they were on the sidewalk outside the house she said, "I'm glad those reporters and everyone are gone."

"They have been for a few days now," Beckett replied as they walked to the Foster's where she could already see that Mari was waiting for them on her own. "They won't come back if you're worried about that."

"Oh good, I thought they were taking a break," Julia confessed. "Can I walk with Mari alone?" she then asked as they neared her friend.

"Go," Beckett said with a smile. She looked at the bay windows of the Foster home and saw Rebecca there, waving to the woman before she went after the two girls who were walking hand in hand.

"Mommy told me yours was gonna go see her," Mari said. "I wonder what they'll talk about."

Glancing over her shoulder back at her mother Julia smiled and said, "I dunno, maybe about the trip. Is your mommy worried any?"

"No," Mari said seriously, shaking her head no very firmly. "She knows your parents are gonna watch out for me so she's okay. My daddy keeps saying now we're closer to listen to them and stay with them."

Julia snorted slightly and then said, "You'll stay with me and I'll stay with my parents."

"I told him that too!" Mari exclaimed. "But he's worried."

"That's how all daddies are," Julia said. "Peter told me his dad does that too."

As they reached the school Beckett had to wonder if the two had realized that she'd been able to easily hear them talking. She reached for their hands as they crossed the street and once they were in the elementary school building she hugged Mari quickly telling her, "Remember you're coming home with Julia."

"I know I can't wait," Mari said since she was staying for dinner as well. "Thank you Kate."

"You're welcome," Beckett said with a smile as she'd hugged her back. She watched the little girl go over to Julia and the two soon went to the stairs. "So I think it's my turn today?" she said to her mother in law.

"Yes Mommy," Eliza said, reaching for her hand.

"Say goodbye to her first before we go," Beckett said, trying not to laugh at how the toddler had forgotten Martha.

"Oh!" Eliza nearly cried, turning to her.

"It's alright darling," Martha said soothingly as her youngest granddaughter threw herself at her. "You wanted to make sure we knew whose turn it was." She hugged her and then said, "Have a wonderful day at school Eliza; I'll see you later after school."

"That much at the spa?" the toddler asked.

"Yes, your parents were very kind to me with this gift," Martha replied, smiling when Eliza nodded rapidly. "So I'll see you then and enjoy your time with your mother."

"I will, you have fun too Gram," Eliza said seriously. She shared a kiss with her then and took her mother's hand again before they went into the classroom.

"What are you thinking sweetie?" Beckett asked as she unbuttoned her daughter's coat.

"Will I be alone with you?" Eliza asked.

"You will, we'll have lunch together," Beckett said. "Don't ask what yet," she told her daughter quickly as she was about to speak. "I'll see once we get to that point. It looks like Susan and Eric want to play with you," she told her as she could see the two waving to her from one of the tables. "I'll see you when I pick you up and I love you sweetie."

"Love you Mommy, have fun today," Eliza replied, hugging her tightly before kissing her cheek lovingly.

"I will," Beckett told her. She kissed her back and they embraced one more time before she said, "You have fun too."

Nodding Eliza then hurried over to the table to sit with her friends and she looked up to wave at her mother before she then turned her attention to the blocks they were using to make a structure.

Going out to the hall Beckett said, "She stayed upstairs?"

"She's waving to us," Martha pointed out to her.

Turning Beckett could see that her mother in law was right and she smiled as they walked over to the stairs and went up to her saying, "I'm surprised you didn't go down to your class."

"It's not that far," Julia replied with a wide smile. She waited until they were at her room before she turned to her grandmother. "Have fun at the spa and I'll see you…"

"After your class," Martha replied. "I forgot to tell your sister, I'll be going to the spa with a friend so we'll have a nice lunch and aperitif before going home."

"I'll tell her at recess," Julia promised. She hugged Martha tightly and then said, "Bye, thanks for coming again here Gram."

"You're welcome darling, I was glad to do so," Castle's mother said. She kissed Julia's cheek and let her do the same in return before letting her go to watch her join Beckett.

Embracing her daughter Beckett said, "Have a great day and I'll be with Eliza at your dancing class."

"I know, thank you," Julia said, smiling at her. "I hope you'll like it today, we're gonna dance the Jive."

"I can't wait to see," Beckett replied. "Go ahead inside and pay attention."

"I will," Julia said. She gave her mother a very quick squeeze before she then rushed to go inside to her desk before the bell rang.

As she and Martha were walking back to the house Beckett said, "Do you mind me heading out right now?"

"Oh no," Castle's mother said, waving her hand slightly. "I'll just be reading the newspaper until I need to leave. If there are any pictures of you and Richard I will of course let you know."

Beckett murmured a thank you before they reached the gate and as they were soon walking up to the house she couldn't help recall the picture of her and her husband that had appeared in the paper the day after he'd left. There had been someone from the media; likely getting an early scoop on the news about her mother's murder; that had gotten a picture of them kissing next to the cab. She had talked with Castle about it though neither of them really cared in the end after they'd discussed it. They had been amused when the picture had also come with a short blurb about them still being it love and then they'd shrugged it off.

Heading up to her room Beckett grabbed her jogging clothes and began to change, smiling briefly at her reflection in the mirror as she couldn't help recall when she'd first worn those. Castle's reaction had been pleasant but at that moment she shook herself of her memories before she forgot to go on her run. Leaving the room she put on her jacket and zipped it up, searching for her mother in law once she was downstairs. "Martha," she said, looking behind her as the dogs then joined her and were nuzzling her hands with their noses.

"I guess they're ready to go," Martha said with a smile as she looked over and saw the two. "And you are as well, take it easy. I don't want to explain to my son why you're exhausted when we talk to him tonight."

"I wasn't going to run for too long," Beckett assured her. "Maybe a half hour up the beach before I come back to see Rebecca."

"I'll see you later after they're home from school," Martha replied.

Calling a goodbye to her Beckett left to grab the dogs' things and to get them ready. She had their leashes in hand and once they were in the back and on the sand she whistled to them twice; their whistles; and they started to run down the beach. She led them past the Foster home and tried to drive her thoughts out of her mind, focusing on her breathing. She didn't want to think about her husband's absence yet again but it was difficult as the sound of breathing could only distract her so much.

Keeping an eye on the time Beckett called to the dogs as they neared the half hour point and she scratched Macca's head as he tried to jump on her. "Easy boy," she said. She then reached for a piece of driftwood and tossed it back in the other direction, watching both dogs go after it. She watched them play a little tug of war before she whistled to call them back to her which they soon did. "Good girl Rita," she said, scratching behind the Ibizan Hound's ears as she'd reached her first. She then did the same with Macca, telling him the same she'd told Rita before she then said, "Let's go back."

Running back home Beckett did as she'd done on the way to where she'd stopped and every once in a while she ceased running to give the dogs a break. She had to smile as they were very eager though eventually they started to tire out. "You two better sleep when we get back," she said with a smile. "Or else the girls are going to be a little disappointed," she told them. "Come on, let's go," she called as they were nearly to the Foster's house.

Hearing a knock on the kitchen door Rebecca's head shot up and she saw that it was Beckett, making her smile as she then headed over to open it for her and the dogs. "I'd hug you but… it looks like you had a good run," she told her jokingly as she moved to let her into the house.

"I did, these two are exhausted if you couldn't tell," Beckett said as her dogs were looking at the Foster dogs who were sniffing around them.

"So how're you doing?" Rebecca asked as she led her into the kitchen so Beckett could sit at the island and she got her some water.

"In what way?" Beckett asked her. "By the way, where's my niece?"

"She's sleeping," Rebecca replied. "According to David she woke up and was sick. I don't know how I missed it, I must be horrible."

"No you're not," Beckett said in exasperation. "I've done the same when Eliza's gotten sick a few times. But she's okay now right?"

"Yeah, it was just once," Rebecca replied. "She just stayed up a little longer than she should have. And you didn't answer my first question."

"You didn't answer my question to your question," Beckett replied easily. She and Rebecca looked at each other and she began to laugh at the same time her friend did and then said, "I'm fine."

Studying her the woman got herself a glass of water and sat at the island next to her before she said, "You're not."

Beckett was going to protest that but before she could she finally exhaled hard and with that seemed to lose whatever she had that she was using to hide how she felt to everyone but her husband. "I'm not," she began with. "I'm telling everyone that I'm fine but I'm not I miss Rick. Badly." She then groaned and buried her face in her hands before she straightened up and said, "I told myself I wouldn't be that kind of wife, missing their husband so badly they were… pining away for him laying on a fainting couch with the back of her hand to her head."

"Wow, that was detailed," Rebecca said, smiling for a moment before she then squeezed her friend's hand. "But it's not a bad thing to miss him that much."

"You?" Beckett replied.

"I went, before I had Mari," Rebecca began. "To Chicago for a conference to represent our firm and I was gone for only a week. I missed David… horribly and every time we talked we were desperate."

"It must have been difficult," Beckett commented. "You didn't have tablets?"

"No and our phones didn't have video so we couldn't see each other," Rebecca said. "I came to hate phone sex after that trip."

"I don't blame you," Beckett replied. She then said, "I never thought I'd be like this either. But it's like something is missing from my life, him."

"I didn't think I'd be that way either, I thought I was extremely independent but…" Rebecca said with a sigh. "Though I still am, so are you, it doesn't make you weak it does show you how much you care for the ones you love. And how important Rick is to you."

"That's true," Beckett replied. "But I'm missing the physical stuff as much as the emotional."

"Not a surprise," Rebecca replied. "Want more water?" she asked as by then Beckett had finished her glass.

"No I'm good, thank you for that by the way," Beckett replied. "And I've been worried about him."

"Missing you?" Rebecca asked.

"All of us," Beckett replied. "But he's… not exactly depressed but he is unhappy I can tell."

"He wouldn't start… drinking would he?" Rebecca said.

"He hasn't," Beckett said very quickly. "But I bet you anything at some point he'll get pushed to that. I'm not concerned," she then said to her friend's worried look. "He wouldn't overdo it because I can't see him risking the girls noticing he's hungover, no matter what time we talked to him,"

"They'd notice it," Rebecca replied. When her friend nodded she then said, "How long?"

"Nine days," Beckett said. "And the time has been going so slowly."

Rebecca smiled slightly at the way she'd worded that and said, "I can understand what you mean, the night before my flight home took days. Is he going to do this again?"

It was Beckett's turn to smile and she then told her what she'd talked to her daughters about before and said, "I haven't told the girls this but I called my dad and he said to let him know as soon as we had dates when we would go to the West Coast."

"I'm not surprised, he loves coming over," Rebecca replied. "Though you know if you need to you can leave the girls with us."

"I know," Becket said. "But my dad will make sure he can watch them."

"Need to go?" Rebecca said as she then slid off her chair.

"Yeah, I want to shower and then finish the chapter I'm on so Rick can read it," Beckett said. "It's only a few paragraphs to wrap everything up but I want him to see it before the book signing today."

"Alright, if you need to talk again though let me know," Rebecca said as she then walked her over to the door.

"Thank you so much for talking to me now," Beckett told her, hugging her friend tightly. "I needed to get that off my chest."

"You've told him all that right?" Rebecca asked. When her friend nodded she was relieved and told Beckett that before she said, "Take care Kate and one of us will stop by to pick Mari up."

"I'll bring her over. Thank you Rebecca, bye," Beckett said with a smile. She then walked home with the dogs and once there she then went to her room, undressing rapidly before she went into the shower. Since she was alone she had no real desire to draw out cleaning herself and she was soon stepping back out. It took her some time and concentration to dress and get her hair ready so she could manage to turn her attention to the writing that she needed to do.

Going to the office Beckett sat down at her computer before she started it up and read the paragraph where she'd left off last, though the last sentence had been suggested by Castle. Placing her fingers on the keys she then began to type rapidly, letting it overtake her until she was finished and she began to read aloud as she found it helped. "Green looked over at the doorway, seeing that there was a figure there and she stepped over to it until she could see who it was. Mrs. Maple… thank god you're-"

Beckett made a quick change so the sentence read, _seeing that a figure was there blacker than the shadows around it_ and read that paragraph again before she then typed again, that time reading aloud when she did. "Moor had finished speaking with Mr. Maple when he realized that the man's wife wasn't there and neither was his girlfriend. He cut off his conversation with the man and then left the ballroom, calling out Green's alias. He searched the room directly across from the ballroom but it was empty and he then ran down the hall searching every closed door. At that point he began to call her by her name until he heard a voice behind him. 'It's my wife,' Moor said, just barely remembering to call her that. 'She's missing.'" With that she nodded her head and saved it before mailing it to her husband.

Getting up from her chair Beckett went to the garage to get some treats for the dogs before her phone rang. Since she'd left it in the office she had to run back to pick it up. When she got to it she swore as she missed the call but was quick to dial her husband's number, waiting eagerly for him to answer as it began to ring.

"Kate, go to the TV," Castle told her in response as soon as he had picked up.

A little startled at the abruptness of that Beckett quickly did as he'd asked since she had been able to tell from his tone that he wasn't going to answer if she tried to see why he wanted her to do that. She went into the family room and after the TV was on and she'd connected with his tablet he came into view. She opened her mouth then to ask him what he'd wanted when she cut herself off and looked at the view he'd pointed his tablet to. "Oh Rick, you're on…" she breathed.

"Ocracoke Island," Castle finished for her, smiling widely. "I came for the girls and for you too, I had to show you now since I had the chance."

Beckett smiled at her husband as he reappeared and then thought of something asking, "Is McCann there?"

"No, he's… somewhere around here," Castle said, looking around. "Just not with me which is great because it took us a while to get here. So is it like you remembered?"

"It is, though we went in the summer," Beckett replied. "Any horses?"

"Hold on," Castle said, obviously walking. "There," he said before he turned the tablet the right way so she could see what he was looking at. He could hear his wife's slight gasp as she saw the small herd of horses that was in front of him and he smiled saying, "Surprised?"

"I don't see how I can't be, I knew they were here," Beckett said, though her tone was heavily tinged with her awe. "Don't get too close," she told her husband as he stepped forward.

"No, this is close enough," Castle replied. He then said, "Love… I wish you were here."

"I know me too," Beckett said with a sigh, unable to help remembering the discussion she'd had with Rebecca. "And the girls too."

"How are they?" Castle asked her.

"Turn the tablet back to you," Beckett said softly. She smiled then at her husband and told him, "They're fine, they miss you but I could tell they were glad we're no longer on double digit days."

"Me too," Castle said. He then said to her seriously, "And you my love?"

"I'm fine," Beckett said.

" _Any dreams_?" Castle couldn't help ask.

Relieved that he'd spoken in Irish, Beckett said, " _Of course, but not like the other night_ ," unable to help feeling embarrassed at the memory. Shaking her head she then said, "What about you?"

" _Yeah, but I haven't gone so far in my dreams to do what you did waking up_ ," Castle replied.

"One morning you will," Beckett said in amusement thought she couldn't help feel slightly aroused at the way she'd awoken Monday morning in the throes of an orgasm after numerous dreams of them together. "Anyways, did you see what I sent," she then said to turn their attention to another subject.

"I did," Castle said simply.

"And?" Beckett was quick to say. "Did you hate it?"

"No," Castle said, sighing as he couldn't really continue teasing her. "I loved it; it feels a lot like how I was when you were grabbed by mistake at the B&B."

"I sense a however coming in about now," Beckett said with a smile. She sat on the coffee table when she could tell that her husband had done the same and then said, "Tell me."

"I'm just wondering if a phrase like, the figure darker than the inky darkness surrounding it would convey it was really dark there," Castle suggested.

"Either one, maybe we should try that because it gives it more depth," Beckett replied with a nod. She was going to speak when she then heard someone calling his name and she sighed saying, "Can I mention I dislike him?"

"I'll add to that, so you you're not alone," Castle said as he was checking his phone. "I recorded some of the horses with my phone; I'll send it to you okay?"

"I'll show them when we talk to you later," Beckett said, watching him standing up. "Six still?"

"Yeah, I'll see you then Kate," Castle replied. " _I love you_."

" _I love you too_ ," Beckett said before he then hung up as they'd agreed that was better than saying goodbye. Turning off the TV she stood up and checked the time before she went back to the office. While she waited for Castle to send her the entire change he wanted she read for a little. After making that change she saved the document and glanced at her watch again. She still had just under an hour until Eliza would be out and she decided to gather some things to bring to the family room and check on the dogs who were sleeping after their run, trying to pass the time as quickly as she could.

* * *

Holding her mother's hand Eliza looked up at her and said, "Where are we going?"

"To lunch," Beckett said. She couldn't help but smile when she looked at her daughter, seeing the pout on her lips. "I'm surprising you."

"Kay," Eliza finally said. She then thought of something and said, "But Jules doesn't go too."

"No but I did put a small surprise into her lunch last night," Beckett replied.

"Ooh, what Mommy?" Eliza asked eagerly.

"One of the smaller candy bars Alexis sent," Beckett replied as they reached the car she'd driven and she focused then on getting Eliza into her seat. But once she'd started driving she headed towards the western edge of town and stopped somewhere she knew her youngest was going to recognize.

"The horsies!" Eliza nearly shrieked.

"Easy sweetie," Beckett said, slightly laughingly as she couldn't help it at the toddler's exuberance. "And yes, you and I are going to visit them today."

"Can't go for a ride too?" Eliza said, giving her mother a hopeful look as she leaned over to unbuckle her car seat.

Pausing for a moment Beckett looked at her daughter and then sighed saying, "You learned that look from your daddy."

Eliza giggled slightly as she held her mother's hand once she was standing next to the car but then said, "Are you sad?"

"No," Beckett was quick to reassure her as they went into the café. "I meant that you and your daddy know how to try to get me to tell you yes to something you want." They got to the back of the line and as her daughter leaned against her she then said, "We can, but a very short ride." She smiled when Eliza hugged her as she squealed and then focused her attention on what she wanted for lunch as they would need to pick something out or order it.

When they were sitting at a table and eating Eliza looked at her mother who was looking at her phone and she said, "Is it Daddy?"

"It is," Beckett said. "He's still on his way to Richmond and it's going to be a long ride so he sent me a picture."

Laughing softly as her mother showed it to her Eliza saw that her father had smashed his face against the car window, pretending to be asleep. "Can you say something to Daddy?" she asked her.

"Of course," Beckett said, running her hand over the back of her head.

"Say he's silly," Eliza said. "And I love him too," she then added hurriedly as she tugged at her mother's blouse sleeve.

"I will," Beckett said with a smile, texting the message. After she'd put Eliza's she then added herself the message, _Our daughter is right, I feel sorry for McCann but we love you still_. She paused on the letters for a moment and then rapidly added to the same sentence, _and I'm watching the hours for tonight_. After she'd sent the message she had to wonder at what his reaction would be to that and she smiled slightly at the thought before encouraging Eliza to continue eating.

At that moment in the car Castle was about to answer his daughter's and his wife's messages but held back, glancing at the aide driving them north. He turned toward the window to his right and then typed back the first message telling Eliza, _I know but I have to have some fun without all of you, I miss you and love you too_. With that he moved on to Beckett's message telling her, _My wrist hurts from checking my watch but I can't help it, I want you already_. He let out a breath then, nearly jumping when the aide said his name, making himself shake Beckett from his mind as he tried to listen to what McCann was saying.

Relieved when the toddler turned her attention to her grilled cheese Beckett read the message that Castle had sent to her herself and smiled briefly before she turned her attention back to Eliza. She found it hard to forget her husband but firmly set it aside as they were finishing their meal and she needed to clean up. After the table was clear she picked up her daughter and walked out of the café, waving to a few employees she and Castle knew from their mornings there. Back in the car she drove them to the stables, surprised to see Charlie walking out to them. "Is anything wrong?" she asked.

"No I came to let you know that Marwa is doing well," Charlie replied before glancing to Eliza who was in Beckett's arms.

"Who's giving birth?" she asked hurriedly, not minding Eliza hearing about that.

"Juliet," Charlie said. "If you want to come… I can get someone to watch her for you."

"No need, she'll visit the other horses, right sweetie?" Beckett asked Eliza at the end.

"Yep," Eliza said though she had to wonder what they were talking about.

Following the stable owner to the building where the mare was, Beckett saw that Lupita was there as well though she was with another horse. Calling to the woman she then said in Spanish, " _Mind watching my daughter? Just while I see the new foal being born_."

Shaking her head the vet said, "Go ahead, she can help me take him out to the trough."

Beckett nodded; wondering if the birth had turned out to be a more difficult one with Lupita not assisting; and said to Eliza quickly, "Sweetie stay with Lupita okay? Maybe she can talk to you a little about what she does."

The vet was surprised at that but then turned to the toddler who was looking up at her seriously and she smiled telling her, "You want to be a vet too?"

"Maybe," Eliza said shyly. "I dunno."

"Well I already finished checking out Blaze so why don't we give him some water," Lupita said. "Stand back so he doesn't run into you."

While Eliza was going out with the vet and stallion Beckett had gone to the stall where a few other people were gathered, including Charlie. Seeing the mare on the ground she said, "What happened?"

"We had to turn the foal around," the vet said from inside. "But it's set and it should be any second now…"

Right at that moment Beckett noticed the mare's sides heaving and short time after a gush of fluid soon followed hooves and with the vet's help the colt was soon slipping out onto the hay. "Beautiful," she said to Charlie. "He'll be great to train."

"He will," the stable owner replied as they watched the mare nuzzling her colt. He was surprised when Beckett didn't move for some time even though it was soon just the two of them and the vet there. But soon realized why she was staying before he said, "You don't want Eliza here?"

Shaking herself at the reminder of her daughter Beckett looked back at the rest of the stable and saw that Lupita was walking over with Eliza in hand. "Come here sweetie," she said once they were close enough. "Thank you so much for watching her," she said to the vet.

"It was fun," Lupita replied, looking into the stall. " _Guapo_ ," she told Charlie.

"He-" the owner started to say when there was a short cry from Eliza.

"Sorry," the toddler said quickly as everyone looked at her. "Can I go on that pony Mommy?"

"Oh Eliza," Beckett said in amusement, kissing her temple. "It was born just now; it hasn't even stood up yet."

"Now it is," Eliza said easily before the others looked at the colt with her.

Beckett glanced at her youngest a few times before she suddenly remembered her husband and reached for her phone. She took a picture of the colt as soon as it stood and asked, "A name?"

"You two think of it," Charlie said.

When Eliza looked to her; complete joy on her face; she said, "What do you think about Storm?"

"Ooh, that's a nice name…" Eliza said thoughtfully. "Yeah, Storm."

"Perfect," Charlie said, giving Beckett a sideways glance.

Seeing that Beckett didn't respond as she was typing on her phone and sent out the picture with the message, _The newest addition to the stables, Storm_. After a while she remembered the time and looking at her watch saw they needed to hurry so they could ride both horses to be able to make it to Julia's class. As she took Eliza to their stable; after saying goodbye to Charlie and the others; she felt her phone shake in her pocket but didn't look at the message until Eliza was back on the ground and greeting Alex and Julius. When she read the text she couldn't help smile as Castle had written, _Did you name him?_ She quickly texted back, _Of course I did_. His reply came a few seconds later and she smiled as it read, _Great choice for a great looking Andalusian, thank you love_.

"Mommy?" Eliza asked then, as she was waiting for her to get one of the horses out.

"Sorry sweetie, your daddy loved the picture of Storm," Beckett quickly told her. "Stand back and let me get Alex first."

Eliza looked on eagerly as her mother went into the stallion's stall and took him out where she placed the saddle on him. "We get to ride Alex," she said eagerly, standing close enough for him to smell her but not so he could touch her. "And me too."

"Alright come here sweetie," Beckett said, holding her hand out to her. Once she had it she then led Eliza outside where she picked her youngest up and placed her on the front of the saddle before she mounted behind her. Tugging on the reins she led Alex to the trail and kept her eye both on it and Eliza as they rode to the point where she needed to stop him.

"Where do we go Mommy?" Eliza asked her as she glanced behind her.

"We'll have to take the shorter trail," Beckett said though she didn't sound very pleased about it.

"No time?" Eliza then said.

"No but we can gallop if you hold on tight to Alex's mane, just don't pull," Beckett told her. Once she was sure her daughter was doing that she turned to the path and then began to ride as quickly as she could, smiling as Eliza was squealing nearly the entire time.

Hearing the cries of a child Charlie looked over from the corral he was riding in and saw Beckett nearing with her daughter ahead of her. He couldn't help smile as the two neared him and he said, "Having fun?"

"I know she is," Beckett replied. "I'm going to take Julius out before we leave but I'd like to take her to see Storm again."

"Go ahead," Charlie replied. "Just remember Eliza," he told her. "This is a baby horse so you…?"

"Stay away from it," the toddler said firmly. "I wish I could pet."

"When it's a little older," Charlie said. "Maybe once I set them out to pasture you could go with your mother in it to do that," he said as he glanced at Beckett. "She's the best at calming down horses."

"You sound like Rick saying that," Beckett replied with a smile. "And we'll see what happens when spring gets here. For now I need to get going." Riding over to the stable, she dismounted and got Eliza down before she went into the stall as her daughter slipped inside. Watching to make sure she didn't go behind Alex she brushed her stallion and had Eliza help her get him fed before she draped a blanket over him and they left.

"You get to go now too," the toddler was saying to the stallion as her mother got Julius out from his stall. "And I get to go on too."

Beckett couldn't help smiling widely at the way Eliza was chattering to Julius, telling him that she would hold onto his mane but not hurt him and that they would run though it wasn't going to be that fast. "Ready?" she asked once she finally had the saddle and reins set. When her daughter nodded she picked her up and placed her on the saddle, coming up after her before leading Julius over to the trail.

"Mommy?" Eliza said as they neared the fork with the other trails.

"Yes sweetie," Beckett replied simply.

"Does Julius miss Daddy?" Eliza then said.

"I think so," Beckett replied. "But when we're home we'll go for a ride again, your daddy and I. For now," she said as they'd come to the trail. "Want to gallop?"

"Yeah Mommy! Go fast!" Eliza cried. That cry turned into a squeal when her mother nudged Julius and they soon took off. She kept squealing off and on as she'd done the ride before, unable to help it as the speed was more exciting than anything she could remember. When they soon after reached the stables she giggled and said, "Thank you Mommy."

"You're welcome sweetie," Beckett replied. She took the change to check her watch quickly and then said, "We should hurry and go to your sister's class."

"Kay," Eliza said as they went into the stable. She watched her mother brush Julius in his stall and was allowed to feed both horses half an apple before Beckett was carrying her to see Storm quickly.

Carrying her daughter to the car after their short visit to the colt Beckett was a little surprised when her daughter called to her and asked, "What is it?"

"Why are you so good with horsies?" Eliza asked as her mother had been able to calm down the mare that had been watching them warily with her colt.

"I don't know," Beckett said honestly. "Your daddy would love to say I have a connection to horses but I just know what to do with them."

"And you are…" Eliza started to say before she paused as she wasn't sure she could say the word. "Pat…"

"Patient," Beckett said slowly so she would try the word herself. She smiled when Eliza nearly got it and then said, "You're right, I am."

"Daddy said more with horsies and not him," Eliza said as her mother was setting her into her car seat.

"A little but your daddy is not a horse so he could have better sense," Beckett said with a smile. "Sometimes he does and sometimes…"

Eliza giggled and then wrapped her arms around her mother tightly before saying, "Thank you for my rides Mommy, I am very happy."

"Good, then I'm happy too," Beckett said, leaning over and nuzzling her daughter's nose with her own. She then shared a kiss with her before she got out and into the driver's seat, needing to get them to the school quickly.

* * *

"And kick and flick, and kick and flick," Ms. Grey was saying as she clapped her hands to the beat of the song she had playing. "Stop!" she called when it finished. "Very good but I see a few of you still having a small issue with timing so I'm going to work with you individually. Divide into two with your partner."

Julia smiled at Mari as she joined her and Peter and she said softly, "She might talk to you."

"I know," Mari replied since she knew that was said in a compassionate way and also knew her friend was right. "Are we gonna still practice?" she said as the teacher was going over to another pair first.

"We should, I can count for you," Julia replied. She then took a moment to glance at her mother and sister, waving to them as they'd come in just as the class had started and she hadn't had a chance to say hello to them. She smiled when Eliza waved back at her and then looked back to her friends to start counting for them.

"Is she in trouble?" Eliza whispered into her mother's ear when Ms. Grey went over to Mari after working with two students first.

"No," Beckett said, smiling when the toddler had stood up to ask that. She looked on with Eliza as they watched the class continue with the Foxtrot after they had finished with the Jive. When it had ended and the students had left she told her daughter, "Did you remember she's coming home with us?"

"Yep," Eliza said. She was quiet at that point and then said, "I can say about the ride right?"

"Yes, remember I told you," Beckett said with a smile before she looked over to see Julia and Mari coming out to them. "So it looks like you two had fun," she said as they were both laughing.

"Yeah, Julia said we can practice at home," Mari said.

Smiling sheepishly Julia told her mother, "I said if you said it was okay."

"It is," Beckett said. "Let's get home though it's cold and might snow."

"Why did you walk?" Julia asked her in surprise.

"It wasn't like that when we started out," Beckett explained as she picked Eliza up. "And by the time it was we were too close to the school to go back. We'll be alright though," she quickly told the girls to reassure them as they stepped outside and they were all looking up at the sky. "Just walk quickly."

The group proceeded to do so and they soon made it back to the house before the first flakes of snow began to fall to the ground. Beckett, after discerning that Julia and Mari had homework, led them to the kitchen table while she quickly got some hot cider and apple slices for them.

"Mommy," Julia said as she watched her mother pouring out the cider into four mugs. "Have you heard from Daddy at all today?"

"I did," Beckett replied. "Did you see me checking my phone?"

"Yeah," Julia said. "That was him?"

"He was leaving for the bookstore in Richmond so he got there alright," Beckett said. "And of course he said he misses us."

"Did you see my mommy before?" Mari then asked.

"I did," Beckett said. "Your sister was asleep though, she was a little sick last night."

"I know, Daddy said at breakfast but she's okay now," Mari replied with a smile. "And she'll be okay, since Mommy and Daddy are gonna spend time with her."

"Eat you guys," Beckett said to Julia and Mari as by then she'd sat with them at the table. "Let me know when you're nearly done." With that she then watched Eliza coloring on the paper she'd given her with some crayons, all of them quiet as they waited for the girls to finish up their homework.

As soon as she had closed her math book Julia jumped up and said, "Now we can practice!"

"After you clean up," Beckett said in amusement.

"Mommy," Eliza said, looking at her as she gave her crayon to her mother. "Can I watch?"

"Yes, I have to make dinner girls," Beckett answered, then referring to all three of them. "So I won't be able to watch too but please make sure Eliza won't leave the room."

"I won't Mommy," the toddler said stubbornly.

"Now you won't because I told you," Beckett said with a smile. She watched Julia and Mari leave with their backpacks and as Eliza followed she decided she didn't need to start dinner that second. Following them once they were in the living room she helped them move a table that was a little in the way; since there was a Lladro on it; and she then stepped back to watch them start to dance the Jive once Julia had the song playing on her phone. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need me," she told the three.

At the moment that Beckett turned around she jumped slightly when she saw that Martha was in the doorway. She couldn't help smile as the girls cried out and went to hug her and she said, "Great timing, they're going to practice their dances they had today."

"Oh wonderful, I'll be able to see still," Martha replied. "And you Kate?"

"I'm making dinner. And I don't know if Rick got in touch with you but he's in Richmond," Beckett said before she looked at her watch. "And right now he's nearing the end of the book signing."

"When are we speaking to him?" Martha asked.

Glancing at the girls with a slight smile at their eager expressions Beckett said, "Six as usual, we'll have time to talk with him since the party isn't until eight."

"Then we'll keep ourselves occupied until then," Martha replied as she went to the couch to watch her granddaughter and Mari.

Going to the kitchen Beckett thought about what she and Castle had said concerning that party and how she was going to need to wait even longer to speak to him. Looking at her watch, she tried not to groan with impatience at the sight of hours yet to go. For a distraction she then turned her attention to the kitchen and making dinner, hoping that would make the time speed up even if it just seemed like it did.


	5. Until I Call You (Part 2)

"I must say Kate," Martha said as she joined her with the girls at the table. "You have learned well from your mother."

"This was what Rick taught me," Beckett replied with a smile. "Since my mother never made fondue."

"That doesn't surprise me," Martha replied as she helped Eliza in the chair that was to her left; at the toddler's insistence. Julia was sitting next to Beckett and Mari was in between them, making her study her daughter in law to detect any sign that she was more emotional than usual. She'd watched Beckett in the days since Castle had left and had noticed the façade she'd put up but when Eliza mentioned that Beckett had spoken to him earlier, she was amazed at the change on her face. But she was relieved to see it, since it let her see how much her son was loved.

Glancing at her husband's mother Beckett then said, "I finished writing and he read what I had done."  
"Did he like it?" Mari asked.

"He did and only suggested one change that I agreed with," Beckett said with a nod.

"How is he with that aide of his?" Martha then inquired as she watched Mari dip a cube of steak that Beckett had made into the cheese.

"Annoyed the man seems to hover too much," Beckett said. "I'm so grateful they're not staying in the same room."

"Ew," Julia said to that, shaking her head. "Daddy wouldn't let that happen." She ate some bread and chicken she'd put on her fork and had dipped before she then said, "Is Daddy okay?"

"Oh he is, counting down like us," Beckett assured her and Eliza as well. "But he wouldn't want us thinking about that while we eat."

"Do we say our days at school?" Eliza asked.

"Yes, we'll go youngest to oldest," Beckett said. She smiled when Julia wrinkled her nose at her and she leaned over to press a kiss to her forehead. "You can pick the first game tonight," she told her.

"Does Lizzy know?" Julia asked with a slight giggle.

"She does, I told her that it's because Mari's our guest tonight," Beckett said. She couldn't help laughing with the others as Eliza waved and said hello to the little girl before turning their attention back to what they'd been talking about before. With that the three talked about their days at school between dipping the items she'd prepared for the melted cheese and then Martha told her story at their urging. She wasn't surprised when she was asked last about her day and she related her run and stop at the Foster home; though didn't go into detail there; and then finished about her writing.

"Well, it sounds like we've all had productive days," Martha said when Eliza then talked eagerly about the time she spent with Beckett at the stables.

"You forgot something," Beckett said as she and her mother in law began to clean up. "The colt."

"Ooh!" Eliza said so loudly and so exuberantly that Julia and Mari nearly dropped their cups. "A pony was born and Mommy named it Storm! I saw it."

"You did?" Julia asked, turning to her mother.

"I did," Beckett said, noticing Martha smiling at her. "I suppose I could have named it Sharpe after his first character in his first book… but it didn't work."

"Did Daddy name him too?" Eliza asked her sister in confusion.

"Remember? Daddy wrote a lot of books about a man called Derrick Storm," Julia told her. "But that was before he met Mommy, after he wrote about Nikki Heat."

"Oh… you read his books about Storm?" Eliza asked her mother.

"I did," Beckett said. "And the name just seemed to fit the colt. Now go ahead to the family room, pick your game and we'll come when we're finished so we can talk to your daddy."

"That's sweet," Mari whispered to her friend as they took Eliza to the room. "That she did that."

"She loves our Daddy," the toddler said firmly.

Julia and Mari shared a grin at that before they turned her attention to the games, having her help them pick something out for them to play. It was easily done and since Beckett and Martha hadn't joined them they sat around the coffee table to wait so they could speak to Castle.

"He's ready to talk to us," Beckett said as she came into the room with Martha.

Mari went to sit with Julia and Eliza before she whispered to her friend, "Should I sit here?"

"Yeah, it's okay," Julia said as they watched Beckett getting the TV ready.

"She's right, it is," Beckett told her. She then turned to the screen and smiled as Castle was soon appearing on it, moving then to stand next to the coffee table as she usually did.

"Hi Daddy!" the girls cried.

"Hey Julia, Eliza," Castle said, smiling at them. "And hello to you too Mari, I see you came over to play."

"Yeah, Julia invited me to dinner since she was at our house yesterday," Mari said.

"Nice of you to do," Castle said. "So I want to hear first off about your day at school but in order please!"

Beckett smiled when the girls slightly giggled at his tone of voice at the end and then listened to them telling him about what they'd done. She didn't try to stop Eliza telling her father; after she and Julia had finished; about their time at the stables as she knew he would like to hear about that in more detail.

"And I told Julius you are coming home," Eliza finished with. "He said kay."

"Oh he did," Castle said with a slight smile. "Well I'm glad you helped your mom exercise him. But I'm wondering Kate."

"Yes?" Beckett said quickly though she had an idea of what he was going to say.

"Mind if tomorrow you take Julia out on him?" Castle asked.

"I will," Beckett said, smiling at her oldest as she turned back to her. "But tomorrow if the weather clears up."

"How was your day Daddy?" Julia asked then.

"I saw something today," Castle said, looking over to Beckett who went to the girls with her phone in hand. "That I filmed and I want you to see it."

Since she was in the middle of her sister and friend Julia held the phone and watched her mother play the clip. She cried out slightly; as did Mari and Eliza; when they saw the horses on the beach. "Where is this?" she asked her father eagerly.

"It's a place called Ocracoke Island and they're wild horses so while I got close," Castle answered. "I couldn't get that close."

"That's enough Daddy," Eliza told him seriously as she smiled. "Oh Daddy thank you for showing."

"I had to," Castle said. "Since your mom hasn't seen them since she was young herself."

Beckett wasn't surprised when the girls all looked at her and she then said, "Martha you can talk now, we've been hogging your son."

"Oh no, I didn't have much to say," Castle's mother replied. "Only thank you Richard, and of course you Kate, for my day at the spa."

"You enjoyed it?" Castle asked with a slight smile.

"It was wonderful," Martha said, nodding a bit to him.

"You need to go don't you?" Julia asked as her father was looking at his watch.

"I have to eat dinner, which I'll just do here in the room, and I need to take a shower," Castle said. He was startled when; catching sight of Eliza; he saw that she had a frown on her face. "It's not for the party," he quickly explained to her. "I just need to take one."

"Are there gonna be ladies there?" the toddler asked.

"There are but don't worry," Castle said in a firm tone of voice. "I'll be thinking of your mom every second."

"Every?" Eliza asked, her eyes wide.

"I will, so I need to go," Castle replied, glancing at Beckett who merely raised one eyebrow at him. He quickly turned back to the girls and told them, "And we'll talk tomorrow okay?"

"Kay, I love you Daddy, night," Eliza said.

"And I love you too," Julia said quickly.

"I love you Julia, Eliza, sweet dreams tonight," Castle told them.

"Try to have some fun at your little party Richard," Martha said to her son as she watched the way his eyes went to his wife. "I'll be with them when you call tomorrow."

"I'll try Mother," Castle said with a slight smile. "And I'll see you tomorrow."

"We'll talk after the party Rick," Beckett said simply. "Have fun."

Castle's only response to that was another slight smile before he waved to the girls and said goodbye to them and Mari before he hung up. With a sigh he turned off the TV and got up, hurrying to the shower to get that over with first before he needed to leave.

Once she'd turned off the TV Beckett turned to the girls and said, "Are you all ready to play?"

"Yeah," Julia said hesitantly as her mother came back to them and sat at the coffee table.

"What's wrong Julia?" Martha asked.

"I think Daddy misses you most Mommy," Julia said honestly. "He looks a little… sad."

"This is the first time in our marriage we've been this far apart," Beckett said, feeling a little depressed herself at the thought. "And for so long."

"You've been apart before?" Mari asked a little hesitatingly.

"One of us has gone into the city while the other stayed with the girls, for a night or two," Beckett answered as they were setting up the game Life.

"That's a long time not to be apart," Mari said. "My mommy was in Chicago before I was born and she and Daddy missed each other a lot. So they don't like to be apart."

"We're going to see him," Beckett said, wondering if again she was saying for herself or the girls. "And we're nearly finished with another day. Speaking of which, I need to get you home soon Mari."

"I think she means we have to start playing," Julia said with a smile at her friend.

After Mari had nodded the four started to play, Martha opting to watch them and help Eliza when she thought her youngest granddaughter needed it. When they had finished Julia begged her mother to allow her and Mari to show Martha what they'd practiced of the Foxtrot as they hadn't done so before dinner.

"Alright but only ten minutes because I need to get Mari home," Beckett replied.

"No bath?" Eliza said hopefully as her sister and Mari got up.

"Your gram is giving it to you today," Beckett said.

"For now we can watch them," Martha said to Eliza as the toddler had run to her. She helped her sit on her lap before they turned their attention to the two girls who were preparing to dance.

Beckett sat on the armchair on the other side of the couch while she held her phone as it was playing the song they were dancing the Foxtrot to. She smiled as she could hear Julia counting off for them both though she couldn't help her thoughts wandering to her husband and what he was doing then. Luckily she was able to shake herself when the song ended and she hurried to play the next one for their Jive one more time.

As soon as the song ended Julia said quickly before her mother could speak, "You're doing much better."

"I hope we can practice again soon," Mari said as Beckett was standing up.

"We'll see when you have a chance next," Beckett told both girls. "For now…" With that she carefully ushered them out into the hall where they went to the foyer with the dogs, Martha and Eliza in tow.

"Bye, I'm happy you came to play," the toddler was saying to Mari as she hugged her.

"Me too," Mari said with a smile. She hugged Martha quickly and then turned to Julia before she turned to Beckett. "She can't go with us?"

Studying her oldest for a moment Beckett nodded and said, "She can but you need to say goodbye now."

"I'll see you in the morning when we go walk," Julia said as she and Mari hugged tightly. "If it's not snowing," she was swift to add.

"I hope not," Mari told her. "Thanks for having me over."

"It was fun," Julia replied with a smile. "We have to try and do that again."

"Okay but it's my turn to invite you next," Mari said. She giggled when Julia pouted and then hugged her tightly one more time. "Thank you for inviting me," she said to Beckett, blushing a little.

"It's not a problem," she told the little girl, hugging her. "It was fun tonight and we'll see you tomorrow like Julia told you." After Mari had nodded she handed her and Julia their coats and the rest of their outer layers before she got her own. After they were all prepared she then said to Eliza, "Listen to your gram and please let her give you a bath."

"I will," the toddler replied sternly. She waved to her sister and Mari as Martha took her to the doorway and then shivered saying, "It's cold Gram."

"I know, they'll come home quickly," Martha told her. "Come on let's get you into the bath so we're nearly done by the time they get back."

Holding both girls' hands Beckett tried to get them to walk as fast as they could to the Fosters as they walked to the front since it was faster that way. They reached the front door soon after and she rang the doorbell before it was opening.

"Come in," David said, taking Mari.

"We need to head back," Beckett said quickly. She waved to Rebecca with Dani behind David and said, "Rick said hello and he's doing fine."

"Tell him we said hello and thank you for giving her dinner," Rebecca said as her oldest ran to her to hug her.

Waving Beckett turned with Julia after the little girl had waved to her friend and they rushed back home. It was cold but the snow had stopped so it wasn't too difficult to get back which they were soon doing.

In the foyer Julia smiled at her mother as Beckett was pulling off her scarf and she said, "Can we play Scrabble tonight?"

"I was thinking cards instead," Beckett said, smiling back at her daughter.

"Will you teach me to play poker?" Julia asked hopefully.

"I think your daddy will want to be here and help me do that," Beckett told her gently. "But," she then said. "What about War? I know you like playing that one."

"Okay," Julia said eagerly. "Do I have to take a bath?"

"You can take a quick shower; after your sister's in bed," Beckett said as she hung her coat last. She took her daughter's hand and they went over to the stairs where they found the dogs were standing at the top. "I guess they knew it would be us," she said to Julia.

"I think so," the little girl replied before they went over to Eliza's bathroom where Martha was taking the toddler from the tub.

"That was a short bath," Beckett commented as Eliza waved to her.

"She didn't feel like playing," Martha said. "I think she's tired. It must have been quite exhausting with the horses earlier," she said, smiling at her daughter in law so she wouldn't think she was chastising her for that.

"It's more that she was excited," Beckett replied. She let her mother in law dress the toddler and after she'd brushed her teeth said, "You need to get to bed now sweetie."

"No reading?" Eliza asked with a sigh as she pressed her cheek to her grandmother's.

"I'm afraid not, our game went on a little long," Beckett said, shaking her head when Martha turned to her.

"And my dancing," Julia said, looking up at her mother a little uneasily.

"It was for practice," Beckett told her before they watched Martha set Eliza on the bed.

"Good night darling," Castle's mother said to the toddler. She waited for her to finish yawning before she shared a kiss with her and embraced her tightly saying, "I love you."

"Love you Gram," Eliza told her. She watched Julia coming up on the bed and gave her a sleepy smile saying, "You dance very good with Mari, Jules."

"Thanks, I try," Julia replied. She hugged her sister and then kissed her cheek before Eliza kissed her back.

Waiting for Julia to get off the bed Beckett leaned down and kissed Eliza's forehead before sitting down and hugging her as soon as the toddler had thrown herself into her arms. She murmured against her temple, "I love you sweetie and you know your daddy does too."

Nodding Eliza waited for her mother to kiss her twice; knowing the second was from her father; before she said, "I love you too, and Daddy, lots."

"Sweet dreams Eliza," Beckett whispered as she then had Eliza lay down before she tucked her in firmly. After letting Rita onto the bed to settle there, she went with Martha and Julia to the doorway to find the toddler was fast asleep by then. She turned off the lights and then went with the two out into the hall.

"I'll be heading to bed," Castle's mother said as she turned to the two. "So let me say goodnight to you kiddo."

"You don't want to play cards with us?" Julia asked in surprise as she responded to her grandmother's hug.

"Not tonight, maybe tomorrow," Martha replied. "Have fun playing though. I love you darling."

"Love you too Gram, night," Julia said, sharing a kiss with her before she then watched her hug her mother.

"Come on," Beckett said to her oldest once they were alone. "If you want to play you need to get ready first."

Julia nodded and went to her room with her, taking a quick shower before she dressed and brushed her teeth. As soon as she stepped out of her bathroom she asked her mother, "How much time?"

"You were quick tonight, we can play for twenty-five minutes," Beckett said before taking her hand so they could walk downstairs. They went to the dining room, where they'd been playing games together after Eliza had gone to bed and she told her daughter, "I'm going to make some coffee, shuffle the deck for me?"

"No, I'll come with you," Julia said, getting off the chair she'd taken. Walking to the kitchen she then looked on as her mother started the machine and said, "Are you sad too?"

Glancing over her shoulder with a slight smile Beckett said, "I knew I wasn't going to be able to hide that from you. And I am a little."

"Yeah, 'cause you said earlier this is the longest you've been away from Daddy," Julia said. She then sighed and said, "But we're getting closer."

Beckett had to genuinely smile that time and said, "As we keep saying."

"It doesn't work though," Julia said, frowning as she looked at the very plain cup of coffee her mother held as she turned to her.

"He'll come home, he wants to," Beckett assured her. "In the meantime I'm sure he wouldn't want us to be moping about him."

"Even though he's doing the same?" Julia asked her.

Beckett sighed and then said, "Even though he is." She looked at her watch and said, "The party's started already so he'll be distracted for now." As she took the deck out of its box she saw that her daughter was giving her a look and she said slightly laughingly, "What?"

"Daddy's going to think of you," Julia said firmly as she watched her mother shuffle. "Every woman there he's gonna think about you when he sees them."

"More than likely," Beckett said, a bit embarrassed at how confident Julia was saying that. She split the deck and then handed her one half saying, "You first."  
Julia turned over the card on the top and she watched her mother take the two cards before they started to play in earnest. As they were playing she then smiled and said, "Did you play this when you were young?"

"Of course, it was one of the few card games I knew when I was little," Beckett replied, glad to see that smile on the little girl's face was an earnest one. "I played it with Lily a lot."

"How did Lily meet Brad?" Julia suddenly said after nodding at what her mother had said.

"She went to work at a restaurant in Albany where he was a detective," Beckett replied. "And Brad told us she made the best corned beef sandwiches he ever had, so he found out who she was-"

"Like you find out who suspects are?" Julia asked in slight alarm.

"No," Beckett said as they then noticed that their cards at that turn were the same. "He asked the waitress and after that he got her phone number and they started to date."

"That's nice," Julia said as she took the large amount of cards she'd won then. "Do you ever wish you and Daddy had met like that?"

Immediately shaking her head no Beckett told her daughter, "It wouldn't have been the same and we likely wouldn't be as in love as we are now."

"I thought that too," Julia told her. "Was it at a party like the one he's at tonight?"

"It's similar," Beckett replied. "I don't know if it's the exact same but I didn't spend that much time at the party to see how it was."

"I bet he remembers that every time he goes to one," Julia told her knowingly.

"He does, he told me," Beckett said simply before she shared a smile with her daughter.

"When can I go to one of the parties?" Julia asked.

"You want to go?" Beckett asked in surprised as her oldest had never expressed wanting to go before.

"Just to see what it's like," Julia said thoughtfully. "Do all the women go after Daddy and the boys to you?"

"Not unless they're foolish," Beckett said, trying to fight back her smile. "And they seem to forget we're married but don't worry we don't let them think we're interested."

"Because you're not," Julia told her easily.

"Because we're not," Beckett echoed with a smile. "Alright," she said as she looked at her watch and saw it was nearing the little girl's bedtime. "We'll pick up tomorrow night, remember where you sat."

"I don't think I can forget," Julia said with a giggle as she then got off her chair while her mother was doing the same. They walked hand in hand up to her room and she smiled at Beckett as she led her straight to the bed. She waited then for Macca to jump up on the end of her bed before she quickly followed. Hugging her tightly she asked, "Sure you'll be okay tonight?"

As her daughter had taken to asking that since the night she and Eliza had slept in her bed Beckett said, "I'll be fine. I'll wake you up in the morning."

"I love you Mommy," Julia told her, pressing her cheek to hers. "Sleep go… well tonight."

With a brief smile as she knew her daughter had corrected herself from Castle's 'grammar lessons' Beckett then said, "I love you too sweetie. And I hope you sleep well tonight yourself." She pulled away slightly so she could share a kiss with her daughter and then a second one quickly. With a final squeeze she then stood up as Julia lay back and proceeded to tuck her before pressing her lips to her forehead. She went to the doorway and watching her oldest for a moment she smiled to herself as the déjà vu to when she'd been alone with her daughter back in the city was strong. Shaking herself she turned off the light and went down the hall to her room, checking the time and groaning inwardly as there was still so much remaining.

* * *

Coming up out of the water Beckett breathed heavily as she caught it after being under for so long. She dried her hands and grabbed her phone that was to her right before checking on the time. It was nearly ten; when Castle had said he'd try to get back to the room; so she set the phone down to get out, finding that the bath hadn't been very relaxing as she'd hoped it would be.

Wrapping herself in her towel before she stepped out of the tub Beckett rubbed the front of her body dry completely until she brushed accidentally a little too deliberately against her clit. Gasping at the touch, since she had spent her bath going over her dreams of the night before in her mind and had ducked under the water to try not to touch herself, she rushed to finish so she could focus on getting dressed. Drying and brushing her hair she looked at herself in the mirror and then stepped out into the bedroom.

Sitting up against the headboard Beckett looked around herself as she didn't think she could really concentrate on reading. Her gaze eventually wandered to her body, uncovered as she wasn't sleeping yet and she couldn't help notice that her nipples were straining against her top. Biting her lower lip she reached for her tablet and tried to ignore her body that was literally yelling at her for some attention. She wasn't sure how long she was going to be like that, hoping Castle would call soon as it was harder to resist as time went on.

* * *

"Yeah I'll… get up in time," Castle was saying to his aide. "Probably'll… stay in." With that he closed the door on the man, trying not to wince when it slammed shut as he locked it. Alone finally he walked over to the desk and stumbled down on the chair before he began to write. He had no idea how long he was doing that until finally he'd finished and he stood up, pulling off his jacket before he untucked his shirt. Toeing off his shoes, he then pulled off his socks before flopped on the bed face first.

He took a moment to rest before he forced himself to sit up and take his phone out of his pocket. Focusing the best he could on the screen, he texted Beckett, mumbling some words under his breath until he got a message in response shortly after. At that he immediately went to his tablet, fingers stumbling against the screen until he finally had Skype opened. "Kate," he said in relief once she appeared.

"Rick," Beckett said, immediately getting the feeling that there was something off about him. It took only a moment for her to study him before she said, "Rick are you drunk?"

At that Castle grumbled in slight frustration but didn't deny it before he said, "I drank… more tonight."

"It looks like it," Beckett said, sighing at the same time. "How much did you have?"

"Two martinis and a finger of scotch," Castle confessed instantly. "They were all there… watching me and I didn't have her to help me."

Startled at him referring to her in second person Beckett could see that he was having some difficulty, just by the expression on his face, and she decided to go along with it. "So you miss her," she said, trying not to feel too weird.

"Yeah," Castle said, laughing heavily. "Not even a week and I feel like I could snap."

"Your aide?" Beckett suggested.

"Yeah… he's… an ass," Castle said, shaking his head. "I don't think he loves anyone or else he'd understand. He's seen her you know."  
"The back of your books?" Beckett asked. When he nodded to her she said, "Maybe he doesn't like women."

"No I don't think so," Castle said. He raised his head and then looked at the screen saying, "You have Rebecca you know."

Taking the switch to him remembering that he was talking to her in stride Beckett said, "I spoke with her today; she and David know what we're going through."

"Yeah Chicago," Castle said absently. "Good, I'm glad you talked to her."

"Rick," Beckett said firmly. "Look at me."

Glancing towards the screen Castle saw the concerned expression on her face and he turned facedown before he said, "I thought about you, every second I wasn't lying about that."

"Were you aroused during it?" Beckett asked him softly.

"Yeah, I… needed to leave early," Castle told her before letting his face bury back on the pillow.

"It's not early," Beckett said. "So McCann made you stay?" she then asked in the next breath as she knew what he meant. "So you're aroused?" When she got a simple groan in response she said, "Turn over Rick." When he didn't move she became concerned and said loudly, "Castle, turn over!"

"Yeah…" he said quickly, doing as she'd asked. "It was… I was intoxicated."

"You're intoxicated right now," Beckett said, bracing herself.

"No, by her she… she's in my dreams all the time," Castle mumbled, forgetting through drink that he was talking to the subject of his musings. "Beckoning me and I have to follow."

Though she felt bad for not reminding her husband who he was talking to Beckett decided to see where he was going and what he'd say inquiring, "Where does she take you?"

Castle let out a very heavy breath and said huskily, "To her soul."

Beckett couldn't help the shiver that raced up her spine at those words and her husband's tone. She bit at her lower lip and said, "You have sex with her."

"No, I make love to her, over and over again and I wake up still feeling her," Castle said, turning his head back and forth before he then looked at the screen. "I should have… gotten a leave of absence or something for the girls so you could have all come with me."

"Not just me alone?" Beckett asked.

"No," Castle said, shaking his head. "I want you all to myself but I can't be selfish. And I miss them, our girls." He smiled slightly and said, "They're safe?"

"Mmm-hmm," Beckett told him. "They're sleeping now."

"Good, it's late… for them," Castle said. He closed his eyes then and said, "Tell me what you said to Rebecca."

"Are you going to fall asleep?" Beckett asked. When he shook his head she hesitated but decided to humor him before she started to relate what she and her friend had discussed together. When she finished she was pleased for a second to see him looking relaxed but she soon got control of herself and said softly, "Rick?"

"Kate…" Castle breathed out heavily as he had a few flashes of his wife. But her name made him jump and he looked up at the ceiling of his room saying, "She's like a goddess to me…"

"She's a lucky woman then, if you think that," Beckett told him.

"No I'm lucky… I have her," Castle said. "Except for right now," he added angrily. "God, in my dreams I'm with her, I can feel her and taste her and she's… she wants me. All those other women… they never wanted me like she does. And did you know… she takes me as if she's trying to keep me with her? Every time we come together I feel like I've given myself to her."

"Are you afraid of that?" Beckett said, flushing deeply.

"No! No," Castle said, sitting up slightly. "I never let anyone do that, it wasn't worth it. But this… this is worth it," he said before falling back on the bed with a slight flop. "It is worth it I just wish I could be with her now."

"You could be," Beckett said, relieved his slurring his words was easing up.

"It's not the same," Castle said. He let out a suffering sigh and said, "I'm an ass."

"For what reason?" Beckett asked him quickly.

"I don't know," Castle replied, rubbing his face with his free hand. "I take her… I try and worship her. I try to be a good husband because I know I wasn't before. I love the girls so I can't stop being a father. But is that enough for her."

"Maybe deep down that's what she wanted," Beckett said simply. When her husband glanced to her once she then continued saying, "Maybe she wanted the stability of a family that she lost when she was a young woman and you gave that to her the best you could. Maybe that was all she could ask of you since she loves you too."

"And kids?" Castle said hopefully.

"She was strict about controlling that before you conceived Eliza wasn't she?" Beckett asked him.

"Oh yeah… she kept… good track of that," Castle said. "And I made sure to ask when I wasn't sure…"

Beckett was a little taken aback by the goofy smile on her husband's face and she asked him, "What is it?"

"She never likes me to wear-" Castle started to say.

"She likes the feel of you then," Beckett replied, surprised he was talking about her in the second person for so long that time.

"Yeah… I like feeling her," Castle said. He closed his eyes and then mumbled a few words before he said, "I wish I could bring you here with me, right now."

"So do I," Beckett said with a slight sigh. She was quiet then, the emotion of missing her husband heavy on her. She wasn't sure how long she kept silent but finally her husband was speaking and she quickly turned her attention to him, wondering if she would be talking to him as his wife or the third party he felt comfortable enough to confide in.

"Kate?" Castle then said, looking up at the ceiling. When he heard her ask him what he then told her, "I'm really uncomfortable."

"If you want to undress you can," Beckett said, not trying to be seductive as she wasn't sure where things were going to go exactly.

"Yeah… could you?" Castle asked, looking to the screen. When his wife nodded he then set his tablet in its holder and started to unbutton his shirt, feeling better when he'd tossed it aside. Removing the rest of his clothes he fell back on the bed with a heavy groan before saying, "Still uncomfortable."

"Well," Beckett said before her husband's head snapped towards her. She smiled briefly as she knew he could see her upper body since she'd placed her tablet far enough away from her. "I can help you through this if you want me to."

"Even though I'm wasted?" Castle asked, though he couldn't keep the hope out of his voice.

"You're not wasted love," Beckett told him firmly. "A bit drunk, but not wasted. And I wouldn't mind helping you."

"Okay… help me how?" Castle said.

"You've been thinking of me right?" Beckett asked with another brief smile. When he nodded she then told him, "Imagine me doing what I'm telling you okay?"

When his wife's first instruction was to rub his thumb over the tip of his length Castle shuddered heavily in pleasure as she was telling him to think of her doing that. And he easily could since she had performed that same action on him in the past but it didn't quite feel the same. "I still-" he began.

"I know," Beckett said gently in response as she'd caught the frustration in his tone easily. "But for now this'll have to work Rick. Now you can wrap your hand around yourself, I've done that before so you know what it felt like."

"Yeah," Castle breathed as he did as she'd said.

"Tell me what you felt when I touched you," Beckett said, her voice a little breathless before she could stop herself as she wasn't unaffected while she watched him closely.

"Mhm… soft…" Castle mumbled, closing his eyes then to recall. "Your palm's like silk and your fingers run around me…"

Beckett shivered at the husky groan that left her husband's lips and she watched what he was doing with his own fingers. Biting at her lower lip a few times, she saw that he was attempting to do what she did to him though he wasn't quite making it. She wasn't sure if it was his inebriated state or because he really couldn't mimic her. A bit concerned that would frustrate him again she then told him, "How do you feel?"

"Amazing… to a point," Castle said, gritting his teeth together. He then opened his eyes when Beckett called him to look at her and his breathing noticeably shortened as he started at her. "Better now."

Feeling her cheeks flush a bit Beckett said, "Me too. You could start stroking if you want to do that. I would start around now myself."

"Yeah," Castle said before he then did so. Before he could really begin though he said to his wife, "Tell me how."  
"Go slowly for now," Beckett replied first, watching him a little breathlessly. She couldn't quite get her eyes off the way his hand was moving and she bit her lower lip again at the sounds coming out of his mouth, easily able to tell he was enjoying it and enjoying the fact that she could. "Speed up a little," she then directed.

Castle breathed out hard at that comment but he didn't want to say anything so he was quick to continue. "I don't…" he started to say as the pleasure kept building and it started to feel like it wouldn't stop.

"How long have you been repressing?" Beckett asked in a little concern.

"A while," Castle gasped out before he grunted a little. "Love…" he then said before he began to mumble in Irish.

Beckett couldn't help but blush again at the words coming out of his mouth, knowing he'd purposefully read up on slang in the language for that reason. Luckily he wasn't being vulgar so much as descriptive, enjoying hearing how well he knew and how greatly he enjoyed her. She knew she couldn't really help him any longer as he was basically in his own world at that point. But she was getting quite a lot visually for herself as he started to slightly thrust against his hand. He'd stopped talking by then as he was clenching his jaw with his teeth nearly gritting together she could tell, so she decided to give him one last push. " _At this point_ ," she said, deciding at the last minute to speak in Irish, taking her cue from him. " _I would have you in my mouth, using my tongue the best I could around the tip of you. Are you going to come love_?"

"Yes," Castle grunted, able to feel her though she wasn't there. "I… Kate!" he nearly yelled when he suddenly snapped and felt himself losing control. He lost touch with himself then, the pleasure coming on him in waves and making him literally breathless as he still managed to rub himself before he finally stopped.

"Rick?" Beckett finally said, a little breathless herself though nothing had happened to her. Watching him in his climax was enough since she was so often engaged in her own while he was doing that. Shaking herself she said gently, "Better?"

"Mmph," Castle muttered into the back of his hand.

"You should probably clean up," Beckett told him, wanting the time to distract herself for a bit.

"Yeah…" Castle said. He was able to do that quickly before he then realized something and going back to the tablet he said to his wife, "You didn't touch yourself?"

"I didn't need to," Beckett said firmly.

"Bull," Castle said. He quailed slightly when she gave him a look and then told her, "I can tell you didn't you're… tense. Good god you look fucking gorgeous."

"You should get some sleep," Beckett told him.

"I can't, not yet," Castle said, nodding down. When his wife had seen the situation he was in he told her, "After this, I want to watch you with your toy."

Though she had been expecting it to come up while they were together on their tablets, it still came as a slight surprise to Beckett. She opened her mouth to say no but she then reconsidered and let her raging arousal think for her for once. Leaning down over the side of the bed she quickly unlocked the cabinet of her nightstand, hearing her husband groaning from the tablet. She hurriedly picked up her vibrator and turning back to him said, "Pervert," as he was already pleasuring himself.

"You can't blame me," Castle told her, groaning heavily already. "A lot of you that's… stunning." He noticed then what she had in her hand and he told her quickly, "Do you need me to talk to you?"

"No," Beckett said with a small smile, wondering if he would realize she'd talked to him like that so he wouldn't go back to referring herself as a third party. "But slow or fast?"

"Fast," Castle said, using every ounce of control to make himself stop touching himself. "You had to hold back and I… want you again."

With that Beckett turned on the vibrator before she spread her legs, touching it carefully to her clit which was already swollen. Gasping at the first touch she then proceeded to stroke the nub slowly at first, looking at her husband who she could see had resumed pleasuring himself as he stared at her. "C-can you see me?" she asked him.

"Yeah," Castle groaned. "You… you enjoy that."

About to answer Beckett then let out a heavy moan of pleasure and shifted her body before she concentrated on taking the speed of the toy up a bit more. As the change affected her instantly she gasped her husband's name and then reached up, touching her breasts with her free hand and fondling her nipples as she could hear him groaning again.

Keeping his eye on his wife the best he could Castle couldn't help but feel a little jealous of two things, her hand and the vibrator. He wanted to be to one to touch her and pleasure her but there was nothing he could do so he just hoped what she was feeling would be enough for her. Watching her closely he then noticed that she was starting to arch her back a little more than normal and by then she'd stopped touching her breasts. "Are you close?" he asked her. He was surprised when she didn't answer but realized that that was his answer and he decided to help them both and told her, "Slip it lower love, brush it against yourself."

Beckett quickly did so, as she'd been thinking of doing that already, and moaned under her breath as the sensation of the vibrations sliding against her folds was almost too much. Gasping softly she then said, "Are you close Rick?"

"Yeah… I can't hold out for… much longer," Castle told her, panting at that point in trying to keep from breaking. "Come love, I'll be with you."

It took Beckett a bit more to do so but she was full of jolts of pleasure and warmth that surged into a heat she couldn't fight against. For some reason she suddenly thought of how her husband felt and could almost feel him inside of her and she lost it. Crying out and arching her back, she began to chant her husband's name repeatedly as everything seemed to overwhelm her. Though her heartbeat was loud in her ears she soon heard Castle calling out her name and she shuddered as she was recalling how he had looked climaxing before when she'd watched. She had no idea how long she was doing so herself until finally she was calming down, nearly wiped out from the pleasure that was making her body throb. "Rick?" she then said as she turned her attention to him and saw that he was stopping at that moment.

"Kate… I love you," Castle replied, losing his breath at the force of his second climax.

"I love you too," Beckett said. "Are you tired?"

"Yeah," Castle said apologetically. "But we can still talk."

"Not tonight, you need to sleep off your drinks," Beckett said with a smile. "But do you think you can call me in the morning?"

"Of course," Castle said before he yawned, apologizing quickly for that. "You were incredible," he reassured her.

"And so were you," Beckett replied. "Have you been sleeping well?"

"Yeah… sort of," Castle then said. When he saw the questioning look on his wife's face he said, "I wake up from my dreams and…"

"I understand," Beckett replied, meaning that completely. "But you look tired now, why don't you get some sleep?"

"I don't want to stop," Castle said. "Or hang up I mean?"

"I know but tomorrow morning," Beckett reminded him. She watched him closely as he opened his mouth to protest again when he finally closed it and then nodded.

Castle then sighed saying, "Okay you're fine with this, you don't want to do this just because I look tired do you?"

"I'm tired myself," Beckett replied, surprised she was after her arousal before. "I'll talk to you in the morning though Rick."

"I'll call," Castle said in a kind of promise. "Goodnight Kate."

"Night Rick," Beckett told him before she allowed him to hang up the connection. She smiled at the thought of him in her mind putting away his tablet before he simply rolled over and fell asleep. She sighed as she hoped he'd shake off his inebriated state and that he wouldn't be too hung over when she talked to him the next morning. She put aside her own tablet and was about to get up to put on her pajamas when another idea struck her. She stood and went to the closet where she plucked one of Castle's shirts from his side and she breathed out as she slid it on. It was clean so it didn't smell like him exactly but she could think she had his scent just slightly in the fabric.

With that Beckett went over to the bed as she rolled the sleeves up, leaving it unbuttoned. She was a little unsure of herself since she had never really slept in her husband's shirts, merely worn them when she had needed to. But laying down and pulling the covers over herself she felt better so she closed her eyes and would later be surprised by how fast she'd fallen asleep as she managed to do so almost instantly.

* * *

 _His hands were everywhere on her body and she was having a hard time taking the sensations he was creating within her. She gasped and writhed below her husband, calling his name as they moved together rapidly and she didn't want to stop, telling him that as he brushed his lips over her breasts._

 _"I won't… fuck Kate you're perfect," Castle mumbled into her skin. After a while he pulled back and then leaned down, kissing her as hard as he could before he was grabbing her by the hips with one hand and sliding that hand beneath her. He could thrust down more deliberately and she cried out heavily in joy as he did._

 _Trying to hold onto her last shred of self control, Beckett pulled him back to her lips where they began to kiss very passionately until he suddenly slowed down. "Rick… wait…" she gasped in surprise at the sudden change in pace._

 _"No, I can't," Castle told her seriously, grunting with his hard thrusts. "Come on Kate, I can see you want to let go. Come for me and I'll make sure you don't regret it."_

 _Throwing her head back so hard the top of it was nearly flat on the bed, Beckett cried out her husband's name a few times in her pleasure._

* * *

Gasping out Beckett awoke to find herself orgasming and hard as she was thrusting her body still up against Castle who obviously wasn't there. She had been holding onto the sides of her pillow but then reached down, rubbing her clit as she rode the last few waves of ecstasy, his name still on her lips though she was whispering them. When she finally stopped she fell back against the bed, a satisfied smile on her face and her fingers still idly touching herself.

Closing her eyes tightly as she finally moved her hand Beckett looked down at herself and saw that at some point she'd pushed the covers away while in the throes of her dream. Castle's shirt was wide open on her and she sighed, wishing he was there to see her in that moment. She debated for a moment to take a picture to send him but decided not to risk it. She then closed her eyes and started to think of her dream again, smiling slightly as she remembered how eagerly her husband had been taking her. Biting her lower lip she glanced over at her phone again. She was tempted then to call him to share with him but decided not to as she recalled he'd looked and sounded tired when they'd finished. So instead she closed his shirt over her and then pulled the covers over herself as she decided to share with him the next morning, getting her own rest then in anticipation for that.

* * *

Looking around himself as he squinted heavily in the light coming in between the closed curtains Castle reached over to his phone that was going off. Groaning at the headache that suddenly asserted itself as he raised his head he lay back down and looked at the screen of his phone. The movement also made him feel that he was fully aroused, not sure how exactly he wouldn't be at the way Beckett had been in his dreams. He had been able to recall some of the night before; mainly when they'd pleasured themselves; but he had a hard time remembering what had come before that. He dialed his wife's number and was surprised when she answered with a very abrupt, "Go to video." As soon as he'd done that he said, "Kate?" as he saw the eager expression on her face.

"I dreamt about you last night lover," Beckett told him with a smile. "You were so good… I came hard as soon as I woke up."

Shuddering Castle said, "Again?"

"Again," Beckett told him, not ashamed to admit that. "You saw me?"

"Repeatedly," Castle told her. "And… you were… it felt like I was with you," he told her. "But I didn't come."

"It doesn't matter," Beckett said, sitting up on the bed.

"Are you wearing one of my shirts?" Castle asked, his voice slightly strained as he stared at her in his shirt, her hair still mussed from sleep.

"On or off?" Beckett asked, her voice slightly deeper.

"On," Castle said, shoving away the covers as she was obviously doing though he couldn't see.

"I love you Rick," Beckett said, holding the phone in such a way as she lay down so he could see down to her sex.

"I love you too Kate," Castle said meaningfully as he followed her lead and held the phone in the same way so she could see his erection as well. With that he then took the initiative and they began to pleasure themselves again, talking and guiding each other as they let the ecstasy build within them both.


	6. Call Me Back Again

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: It was great to get the feedback for the last chapter so I'm going straight to my thank yous for that! Guest (It was great to see how much you liked the chapter and that you thought it was fantastic. And I was glad that you thought the bit with Castle and Beckett over their tablets was hot, lol, it wasn't exactly easy to write that with them apart so it was nice to read. Also I'm happy that you're still enjoying the series so much. And again, you're welcome for posting!), MichelleBell16 (Glad you commented on the bit with Bracken being the story, I had wondered what readers would think of it. And I'm letting you know now that this will be it for that story line. I think I wrote this while season 8 was either starting or as it was going and that led me to finish the story line. And since it's not a spoiler I announce firmly that that's it, nothing is going to come out to add to it at all 'cause I don't really want to continue it, lol. And I'm not surprised you're glad Beckett and the girls are doing okay while Castle's gone 'cause I didn't see them completely falling apart. Great that you can't wait to read more which you don't need to anymore!), TORONTOSUN (I was glad to see that you liked the fact that Beckett and Eliza where there for the birth of the horse. And really happy that you enjoyed the love scene at the end of the chapter as much as you did as that one I really wanted to get written right!) and vetgirlmx (Happy to read first off that you thought it was a really good chapter. I'm not surprised that you weren't at the fact the girls are counting down to when they see their father since yeah; they do miss him a lot. It was nice to see you enjoying Beckett and Rebecca's talk and you make a point of it being cathartic, I'd intended that since I knew the people who knew her would be able to guess she was putting up a façade. And glad you thought it would be weird for her to brood and not be hiding it 'cause that is exactly what I thought myself. Interesting you thought it was weird to see her writing on her own though that of course was borne mostly because of circumstances with Castle not being there of course. I'm glad you like the name Beckett picked out for the colt; something in me said she'd want to pick some kind of name connected to Castle since he's been on her mind of course and that one came to mind. And interesting to see your comments on Castle's aide but not surprised you thought that thought. Really happy that you can't wait to see what happens next and now you don't need to!) Thanks so much to all of you that sent me a review, loved reading them and I definitely appreciate you all taking the time and writing them out and sending them to me!

A/N #2: The title of this chapter is the name of a song by Paul and Linda McCartney, from the Wings album _Venus and Mars_.

Call Me Back Again

Hearing the thud in the room ahead of them Brad shared a look with his wife and said, "Sounds like the bag is taking a beating."

"It's not a surprise," Lily said before she stepped ahead of them and then went into the gym at the police station. "Hey, Kate," she told her when she saw that her friend was the one hitting the punching bag.

"Hey," Beckett replied simply, punching the bag in front of her a few more times. She looked over to the doorway and nodded saying, "Brad."

"Morning Kate," the chief said. "I'll just… get dressed," he then added as he glanced at his wife and saw her nod toward the locker rooms, walking over to them rapidly though he was already dressed for their workout.

"What is it Lily?" Beckett asked. Before her friend could say anything she turned to her and said, "Want to spar for a little?"

"I…" Lily began to say before trailing off as Beckett went back to punching at the bag. "You know, I'll pass."

"Look, if you're going to talk to me," Beckett said, punching a few more times. She then threw one at the bag as hard as she could and continued, "Rebecca's already done it and I'm fine."

"Not really," Lily said, stopping Beckett from her attempt to remove her gloves. She did so herself and told her, "But you're even closer now."

"Another six days," Beckett replied. She murmured a thank you and then took the gloves from her before saying, "Hard to realize we're getting closer."

"I can imagine," Lily replied, leading her over to a bench for lifting weights. "It's been hard on you though."

"You can tell?" Beckett said with a slight smile.

"It's not really hard to," Lily said, looking up at her husband as he stood in the doorway to the locker rooms.

Following her gaze Beckett saw Brad and then said to him, "You haven't gotten a case and not called me to help have you?"

"There was one murder," the chief said, walking over to them. "But it was self defense and the killer was still there."

Nodding Beckett then said, "He's not doing that well either."

"I can imagine he wouldn't," Brad said. "Has to be hard for him without you. When Lils has been gone…"

"Yeah, I heard how you can be," Lily told him, rolling her eyes though a smile was playing at the corners of her mouth. "I don't think Rick is the same."

"He's not," Beckett said. "He's more subdued."

"He's in DC right?" Brad asked her.

"He is," Beckett replied, standing up. "He has his first signing there at two." She then realized something and said, "How come you're both here?"

"The kids spent the night at friends' houses," Brad replied. "So we took the chance."

"What are you going to do today?" Lily asked her friend.

"Spend time with the girls," Beckett said simply. "I'll see you guys later."

"You'll be okay?" Lily asked as she walked with her friend to the women's side of the locker rooms.

"Not really," Beckett told her honestly when they were inside and out of Brad's hearing. "We've become a little… frustrated."

"Yeah on the phone or… the tablet isn't fun," Lily said. "Visually it's nice but it's not as satisfying as it would be if you were together."

"When you were in the city?" Beckett asked her.

"Yep I hated it in the end," Lily replied as she watched Beckett pull on the jacket in the locker that was for her. "We both did. But have fun with the girls today and-" she started to say.

"Try to forget about the fact Rick's not here," Beckett interrupted.

"I wouldn't word it like that," Lily told her. "As if you could forget him…"

Beckett couldn't help laugh at the scoffing tone of voice that her friend had made saying that and she shook her head before telling her, "I can't but I was going to focus on the girls; as I've been doing."

"What about yourself?" Lily asked as her friend closed the locker door.

"That's what this was for," Beckett told her simply. "Since of course the only way I'm going to be alright is not thinking about him or being with him."

"You okay?" Lily inquired.

Knowing that she was asking about her in regards to her workout Beckett nodded and said, "I took it easy." When she saw Lily looking at her skeptically she said, "I'm serious I don't want to end up with sore arms. And before you came I was doing yoga."

"Alright just take it easy," Lily said as they then walked to the doorway. "We're all worried about you both."

"And it's easier to fuss over me than Rick," Beckett teased her.

Sighing Lily hugged her tightly and said, "Tell him we said hello."

"I will," Beckett said. "Have fun with your workout."

Lily was surprised when she said that teasingly but the smiled saying, "I'm going to spar with him."

"Wait, what-" Brad started to say.

"Good luck Brad," Beckett said. She called a goodbye to them and left the station, walking to her car. Once she was inside she checked her phone, seeing that her husband had called her not long before that moment. Calling him back she said, "I thought we were waiting to talk tonight."

"I know but Brad texted me-" Castle said on the other end.

"Really? I wonder if Lily knows he did that," Beckett said wryly.

"I think Brad was just worried about you," Castle said. "He told me what you were doing."

"Yes it was necessary," Beckett replied. "But if you're worried about my arms like they were I took it easy. Except for the last punch," she finally admitted.

"I'm not surprised," Castle said. He paused and then said, "I did the same myself."

"They have a gym where you're at?" Beckett asked with a smile.

"Yeah, nice because I was able to work out some… frustrations," Castle replied.

"It's why I'm here," Beckett said. "So what're you going to do now?" she said after she'd looked at the time on her watch and saw her husband still had some time until his book signing.

"I can't really go out at the moment," Castle replied, looking out his hotel room at his view of the Washington Marina and the snow coming down slowly but thickly. "I figured I should read."

"On that couch next to the window?" Beckett asked him with a smile since she'd already seen his room the night before as he'd shown it to her via his tablet.

"It's a good spot," Castle replied. "And if it stops in time I can head out for a walk to the Mall."

"Take your camera with you if you can do that," Beckett said.

"I know," Castle replied. "But are you sure? You guys are going to get here soon."

"I'm sure, Julia and I aren't the only photographers in the family," Beckett replied. "I'll let you go."

"They've probably finished breakfast by now," Castle said, looking at his watch.

"I know, your mother left me some oatmeal," Beckett said. "I'll take a quick shower, eat while they play in the family room and then Julia and I will go for a ride."

"And Eliza?" Castle asked her.

"We're all going," Beckett said. "Charlie will take her on a pony and Martha wants to watch the lesson."

"Great, tell Julia she can give Julius an apple," Castle told her. "And Kate?"

"Hmm?" Beckett asked him with a smile.

"I love you, I'll be missing you badly at the signing," Castle told her.

"I know, why don't you text me during it?" Beckett suggested.

Thinking about that for a moment Castle then nodded and said, "I might but I'll talk to you at six for sure."

"Do you have a party?" Beckett asked.

"No, so tonight you and I can talk whenever you want to," Castle replied.

"I can't wait," Beckett said with a smile though she couldn't help feel a brief wave of frustration. "And I love you too Rick. Have fun."

"Thanks love, bye," Castle replied.

"Bye," Beckett replied before she then hung up and focused on getting back home.

In his hotel room Castle smiled briefly and then slipped his phone into his pocket before heading over to the lounge with his book in hand. When he sat down he couldn't help looking outside at the water, tapping the corner of the cover against his chin before he finally tore away his gaze to read and have some kind of distraction.

* * *

Stepping out from the bathroom after her shower Beckett gasped when she saw that Julia was sitting on the bed. "Sweetie," she said. "When did you come in?"

"Just now, I brought your oatmeal for you," Julia said.

"Why?" Beckett asked.

A loud squealing of her name prevented Julia from answering and she looked with her mother over to the door as Eliza ran inside with both dogs following her.

"Did you say, did you say?" the toddler asked eagerly.

"No," Julia said, trying not to smile too widely as her sister's eyes then widened and glanced at their mother.

"Say what?" Beckett said with a slight smile herself at her daughter's reaction.

"Gram wants to know if she and Eliza can go alone today," Julia replied.

"And who suggested that?" Beckett asked, not surprised when Eliza looked anxious when she said that.

"Gram did," Julia said simply, looking at her sister questioningly.

"Don't be mad Mommy," Eliza told her hurriedly.

"I'm not mad," Beckett said, motioning for the toddler to come over to her so she could pick her up. Kissing her temple as she sat on the bed and Julia joined her she told them, "Are you both okay with this? Julia will be spending the day all alone with me and your sister will be with your gram all alone sweetie."

"I don't mind," Julia said, seeing her sister nodding and then pointing at her. She beamed at her mother and said, "She agrees with me."

"'Cause you and me were alone before Mommy," Eliza explained.

"Not for that long but tomorrow we'll spend the day together and you can spend the day with your gram Julia," Beckett said.

"That's a wonderful idea," Martha said as she stood at the doorway. "So you're alright with Julia today?"

"Of course," Beckett said as she set Eliza down and then walked with Julia over to her. "What do you have planned?"  
"First we are going to the fabric store," Martha said.

"For what?" Beckett said, seeing the beaming smiles on the girls' faces and realizing they were aware already.

"Your costume of course," Martha replied.

"Isn't it a little too soon for that?" Beckett said, surprised.

"I don't think so," Martha said. "And Julia's trusting her sister enough to help me pick the material for it."

"Alright," Beckett said, sounding a little doubtful. "And after that?"

"It's not just your costume," Julia told her mother. "Also for Daddy's jacket."

"Oh, what about a shirt?" Beckett asked.

"Just a regular white shirt will do," Martha said. "I would have bought some fabric to attach ruffles but I know you wouldn't appreciate that."

"I wouldn't," Beckett said, unable to help smiling. "And your other plans?"

"Maybe the playground," Martha replied. "And definitely the library; we'll do the same Julia."

"Thanks," the little girl said, wondering what she and her mother would do besides go for a ride.

"Alright, we'll leave now," Martha said since she was holding Eliza. "When will we meet?"

"We have to change for dinner," Beckett said, since Castle's mother was treating them to dinner that night at _The Narrows_. "And our reservation is at five, so we should all be here at four."

"We'll see you then," Martha said, letting Eliza kiss her mother goodbye as she hugged Julia. "Have fun."

After they'd said goodbye to the two Julia turned to her mother and asked, "What're we going to do? And you should eat, you must be starving."

Beckett smiled at her oldest and took her hand before she went over to where the bowl of oatmeal was, taking it to one of the armchairs in front of the fireplace. "So," she said after eating her first spoonful. "What would you like to do after we ride?"

"Oh!" Julia said, sitting up in the armchair across from her mother a little straighter. She opened her mouth to suggest something when she frowned and then said, "I'm not sure."

"I thought," Beckett said, smiling at her again. "That we could go to the theater."

"Well… couldn't we do that another night?" Julia asked.

"You wouldn't want to go see _The Wizard of Oz_?" Beckett said in surprise.

"Not without Lizzy," Julia replied. "Could we just go downtown; to the stores?"

"I think we can manage that," Beckett said. "I was thinking of taking you there for lunch."

"But first we get to ride," Julia said happily, unable to help bouncing in her chair.

"We will," Beckett said as she'd finished the last of her breakfast. "Let's go."

Following her mother down to the foyer Julia turned to the dogs and hugged them both saying, "We'll play when we come back, be good now and get along."

"They will," Beckett said, putting on her gloves last. She led Julia out to the garage and to her car before making her way to the stables. As they went to the building where Storm was she said, "What is it?" as her daughter looked up at her slightly concerned.

"Do you mind Gram getting the fabric for your costume?" Julia asked instead of answered.

"No, she knows what I'll prefer," Beckett said. "Look, here he is," she said as they approached the stall where the colt was with his mother.

"Oh! He's so cute!" Julia said softly as she saw him. "I wish you could train him."

"Charlie wants me to work with him once he finishes," Beckett said with a smile. She saw that her daughter was looking at her with wide eyes and explained, "Just to make sure he'll be ready for a rider."

"Can we see when you do that?" Julia asked.

"Sure," Beckett said. "But it'll be a while still." She let them watch the colt for a little longer and then said, "Come on, we should start our ride." As they turned to leave she was surprised when Julia grabbed her left wrist and said, "Are you looking to see if it's time for lunch?"

"No, just wondering how much longer Daddy has," the little girl replied. "I hope he could go outside."

"His hotel room isn't bad and he has a lot of books with him," Beckett said. "Plus games on his tablet."

"That's true," Julia said as they walked into the stable where their horses were. She waited for her mother to get Alex out and prepared before she watched her getting Julius ready next. She followed her outside to the stable yard and with her help got onto the saddle her father used. "Where are we gonna go?" she asked.

"We can take the full trail but once we get back we'll get them brushed down and then head out to lunch," Beckett told her.

"Okay, that's fine," Julia told her immediately.

Beckett smiled at that and once they were past the corrals nudged Alex into a gallop as she kept her eye on Julia as she was doing the same with Julius. They rode rapidly down the trail and she then looked at the path ahead of them as well as at her oldest.

When they neared the stream Julia slowed Julius down before she and her mother stopped and she waited for her to dismount first.

"So what stores would you like to go to after lunch?" Beckett asked after helping Julia dismount before they walked to the water to let the horses drink for a bit.

"The bookstore," Julia said before her mother could quite finish asking her.

"That didn't need to be said," Beckett told her teasingly. "Anywhere else?"

"Yep, the flower shop," Julia said. She glanced at her mother, not surprised to see that she looked started and then added, "And the toy store too."

"There isn't really much need for the flower shop," Beckett replied. "But the other two we can do of course."

"We can't just look at the flowers?" Julia pleaded.

Beckett was a little hesitant but then nodded and said, "Alright we can go look."

"Thank you," Julia said happily as they pulled the horses away from the water and she mounted the saddle again with her mother's help. Once she was on Alex they then began to ride in a gallop down the trail, remaining silent as her mother was until they reached the stables. Once there they had slowed down to a walk and she said with a sigh to her mother, "Eliza had fun?"

"When she went riding with me?" Beckett said. When her daughter nodded she said, "Of course. Did you?"

"Yep, can we go again?" Julia said hopefully.

Beckett laughed briefly before she then said, "You just asked about your sister to ask to go again."

"Yeah so, can we?" Julia asked eagerly.

Sighing Beckett said, "We don't have time sweetie, I'm sorry. But we will go riding again. That reminds me, I was thinking about your birthday."

"That's not until next month," Julia said, though she was smiling in pleasure. She had to wait to hear what her mother was thinking about as they reached the stables and she dismounted with Beckett's help. "Were you thinking of us going on a ride?"

"Just us," Beckett replied as she then led Alexis into his stall while Julia stood outside, holding onto Julius' reins while she watched her brush her horse down. "And we'd have breakfast too if you wanted to do that."

"Sure!" Julia immediately said with a wide smile. "I'd love that but what's everyone else gonna do?"

"Sleep in," Beckett replied. When her daughter looked at her in surprise she explained, "I think we should go early."

"Me too," Julia said, nodding in agreement. She waited for her mother to finish with Alex before she handed over the reins for Julius. That time she went into the stall and she and her mother talked about their book that had been released the month before. "I'm glad a lot of people read it," she said to her mother as they stepped out of the stall.

Pleased that her daughter was glad about that and not the money it had made Beckett said, "So am I," as she wrapped her arm around her shoulders while they walked to the car. "Are you sure you don't want to write the book a little now?" she asked.

Shaking her head Julia told her, "I think it's better to write with Daddy too, his name is gonna be on the book too."

"That's true," Beckett said, opening the back door for her. "But if you want to write down ideas or anything just let me know."

"I will," Julia replied before her mother closed the door and then went around to the driver's seat. As they were on their way to downtown she said, "I hope Eliza's having fun with Gram."

"She is," Beckett said, not surprised she was thinking about her sister. "We'll hear all about it when we go to dinner." When she saw Julia nodding her head at that she smiled and then turned her attention back to the road that would take them downtown.

* * *

"It is so pretty Gram," Eliza was saying to Martha as she looked at the fabric she was studying.

"I know I'm eager to make the dress for your mother," she replied with a smile. "At least now we have that for her."

Eliza was going to open her mouth to speak when she heard the sound of the gate. "What is it Gram?"

"I'm not sure," Martha said, getting up from the couch to go to the front door. "Hello?" she said, pressing the intercom.

"Hey Martha, it's Lily," the woman said on the other end. "Kate left behind her yoga mat when she was at the gym at the station."

"Let me open the gate for you," Martha told her, pressing the button for that.

"Do we call Mommy?" Eliza asked.

"No need, let her and Julia enjoy their time together," Martha said before she opened the front door. Lily was walking up to them then and she said, "Did you walk here?"

"Of course, the weather's nice and I'm not that far away," Lily replied with a smile. She then stepped onto the porch and handed over the mat.

"How was my mommy?" Eliza asked.

"She was fine," Lily said. When the toddler frowned a little she said, "You don't believe me?"

"Was she sad?" Eliza then said. "Or mad?"

"Is she aware of her mother working out?" Lily asked.

"I believe Richard and Kate took the girls once when they both went to work out," Martha replied. "Brad never told you? He gave them permission for that."

"He didn't, it never came up in conversation," Lily said with a slight smile. "So you've seen your mother punching at the bag hanging?"

"Yep, Daddy holds it for her," Eliza said simply. "And he coaches her."

"I think she means to say he encourages her, as Kate has told me," Martha told Lily.

"No surprise there," she said. "Alright, I'll text her to let her know I stopped by, hope you two have fun Eliza."

"We are," the toddler said. "Thank you Lily."

After the woman had said goodbye to them Lily stepped off the porch and then headed to the gate to walk home. As she was doing so she texted Beckett and then sent off the message. She wasn't surprised when her friend answered rapidly and she laughed slightly, shaking her head before she pocketed her phone for the rest of her walk.

* * *

"What is it?" Julia asked her mother, watching in surprise as she finished texting someone. "Daddy?"

"No it was Lily, I forgot my yoga mat at the station gym," Beckett answered. "And she asked why I didn't tell her about your daddy and I taking you two to the gym."

"Why would you?" Julia asked.

"That's what I said here and I said there was never a point where I needed to tell her," Beckett said. "Also now she knows." She sent off the message and said, "We might have to do that again one weekend."

"Yeah that was fun," Julia said.

Getting her credit card back after she'd paid for lunch Beckett put it away and asked her daughter, "Are you ready?"

"Yeah where to first?" Julia asked.

"Duh, the bookstore," Beckett said as they got out of the booth they'd been sitting at together. She smiled when Julia softly laughed and helped her with her coat before they walked out of the restaurant. But her thoughts were on that morning when she and Castle; because they didn't have anyone to watch their daughters and didn't want to bother their friends; had taken the girls to the station gym while they'd worked out.

* * *

 _"So you two be very careful," Castle was saying to Julia and Eliza; the latter looking at him with wide eyes. "This isn't a playground and things are heavy."_

 _"For you?" Eliza asked._

 _"For kids," Beckett said, walking to them. "And so you know before we leave we are going to spar for a little."_

 _"We are?" Castle asked in surprise. "When were you going to tell me?"_

 _"Before we started," Beckett said, smiling when the girls giggled softly. "You two want to lift some baby weights with us?" She wasn't surprised when they both nodded eagerly and she led them over to the dumbbells, giving them the smallest sized ones that barely weighed half a pound. "Remember not to play."_

 _"I don't wanna," Eliza said, shaking her head when her mother tried to hand her one._

 _"I think they might have thought the weights were something else love," Castle said, kissing her cheek then. "Want your bouncy ball?"_

 _"Yes please," Eliza said quickly._

 _"No kicking in here," Beckett said as she watched Castle get it from the supplies they'd brought for their daughters to use while they were busy. Once the two were bouncing the large ball back and forth together she went with Castle to the machine as they would spot one another when they needed to. They kept their eyes on their daughters until they went to the treadmills and the two followed them over._

 _"Can I go on Mommy?" Eliza asked as she watched her mother starting to run._

 _"I'm afraid not sweetie," Beckett said in between her breaths. "This isn't for two people."_

 _"How far are you going to run?" Julia asked Castle as she was standing next to him._

 _"Not too long," Castle replied shortly. "We're going to do our sparring afterwards."_

 _"Right after?" Julia said._

 _"Once we rest for a little," Beckett said. At that point she and Castle continued to run as they listened to their daughters talk to each other as they waited for them to finish. When they had they led them over to the mats where they would be practicing and drank some water as the girls sat on either side of them._

 _"How come you're gonna fight?" Eliza asked._

 _"It's not really fighting," Beckett reminded her as they'd explained the concept of practicing their self-defense techniques with one another already. "Just practice and we won't hurt each other."_

 _"That's why they're here on the mats," Julia said, about to go over to them._

 _"If you two are going to run around, take off your shoes first," Castle said quickly._

 _The girls both nodded and Castle and Beckett allowed them to do summersaults and cartwheels together before they stood._

 _Once Julia and Eliza were sitting on the chairs Castle looked at his wife across from him and said, "I didn't forget."_

 _"I never have but I still do this to keep it fresh in my mind," Beckett said. She kicked out her leg to try and distract her husband as she started to grab his arm, intending to take him down with that. But he was ready and he managed to nearly knock her over before she was hitting down on his arm._

 _Hearing Eliza gasping in surprise Castle glanced over at them and saw that Julia was holding on to her little sister. Sure that the toddler would be alright he then turned back to his wife and they began again._

 _Though she was aware that they were just practicing Julia couldn't help but worry they were a little too serious as they would hit and knock each other over. But after a while they began to tease each other and she quickly pointed that out to her little sister who listened and was soon smiling a bit. It helped them be able to watch but they were ready for it to finish as time went on._

 _With a low kick Beckett managed to get Castle on his back and she sat on her knees next to him, unable to straddle him as she usually would do since their daughters were there. "Give?" she asked him._

 _"Give," Castle said before he pushed himself up and took her hand to stand. "So now you two know what we do here," he said._

 _"Does Mommy always win?" Julia asked._

 _"I owe you," Castle said out of the corner of his mouth to his wife._

 _Beckett rolled her eyes slightly but then said to their daughters, "Not always, not now that he's gotten more practice in. Girls, come with me okay?"_

 _"Kay, bye Daddy," Eliza said, running over to him. She pulled his hand to bring him down to her and then whispered, "I think you did good Daddy."_

 _"Thanks," Castle said glancing at Beckett as he stood up straight. He was slightly startled when she kissed him but soon kissed her back before he placed his hand on the small of her back as they continued for as long as they could. Parting he said, "See you when you're back out."_

 _"See you," Beckett said, brushing her lips against his before going with the girls into the women's locker room. She gave a last smile back to her husband before he disappeared from her sight and then turned her attention to cleaning up though she had to pull herself hard away from Castle to do so._

* * *

"There's our book," Julia said a little shyly to her mother as they walked through the kids' section of the bookstore.

"I know," Beckett replied. "You-"

"Ms. Beckett?" a mother said, standing with her daughter in front of where they needed to walk to get to the registers.

"Yes?" she said, putting her arm around Julia's shoulders.

"I just bought the book you wrote with your husband and daughter," the woman said, smiling at the little girl. "Would you mind signing it?"

Looking first at Julia who quickly shook her head Beckett turned back and said, "No, do you want her to sign as well?"

"I know you from school," the little girl; who appeared to be around six years old; said to Julia.

"We'd like you both to," the woman told Beckett as she handed over the book to her. "Where's your husband? If I can ask," she said as she looked around the store.

"He's on a book tour for his Nikki Heat graphic novel," Beckett said, trying not to smile as she could hear her husband in her mind thanking her for the plug. "So I'm sorry he won't be able to sign this," she said as she held the book open for Julia to sign with the pen the woman let them use.

"My friends told me that your book is good," the girl said to Julia when she had finished.

"Thanks," Julia said shyly, feeling a little surreal as she'd heard fans talking to her parents like that about their books. "I hope you like it too."

"Thank you so much," the woman said before she walked with her daughter and left them.

"So your first signing," Beckett said to Julia with a smile.

"I know," the little girl replied with a blush. "That was nice and I really do hope she likes the book."

"She probably will," Beckett assured her as they then walked over to the registers. "Now, since we're not too far away we can go to the flower shop."

"Oh! That's right, I do still want to go," Julia said with a nod before her mother needed to pay. As soon as she had she took her hand and pulled her down the street to the shop she was familiar with because of her father.

"Julia what is it, why are you so eager?" Beckett asked, smiling as her daughter didn't stop until they were at the register.

"Hi," Julia said to the cashier. "I'm here to pick up something for my mom."

"Hello Julia," the woman said with a smile. "It's ready, let me go get it."

"Sweetie-" Beckett started to say.

"Shh, I'll tell you why after you see it," Julia told her, putting her index finger up to her lips with a smile. She then turned back to the cashier and said, "Thank you, just like my daddy ordered."

"He was specific," the woman replied with a smile, handing the flowers to Beckett. "You're a lucky woman."

"I am," Beckett said, looking at the bouquet of delphinium, forget me nots and paper whites in her arms. "When did he order this?"

"The thirty-first," the cashier said, taking the money that Julia handed to her. "I hope you'll enjoy those," she told Beckett.

"She will, thank you!" Julia said happily as she took her mother's hand and then led her over to the door.

"Julia you and your daddy are very, very sneaky," Beckett said once they were outside on the sidewalk.

"He wanted me to get the order," Julia said. "I had to pick it up today so I'm glad we came here."

"So am I," Beckett replied, hugging her daughter tightly to her with one arm. "Do you want to go to the toy store still?"  
"No can we go home now? You need to put those in water," Julia said, pointing to the bouquet.

"Come on," Beckett said with a smile before they headed back to the car. She drove them home and once inside she started to call out to let Martha and Eliza know they were back but she quickly saw their coats missing in the foyer closet. "They must have gone to the playground," she told her oldest. "You want to join them?"

"No I can play another day, let her have fun with Gram," Julia replied. She followed her mother to the kitchen and as soon as the flowers were in their vase she said, "Tell me the story about when he gave you a flower for the first time. After you were together not when he was trying to get your attention."

"You know that story already," Beckett told her.

"I still like to hear it, please?" Julia begged.

"Come on," Beckett said before she took her daughter upstairs to the library. Once there they sitting on the armchairs next to each other she began with, "It was after we decided to tell everyone else we were with other people," being taken back to the memory of that as she spoke.

* * *

 _"Castle," Beckett said with a slight smile as she opened her door to him. She was a little unsure about letting him in; their conversation about their insecurity in hiding their relationship and her discovering him with the entertainment reporter only happening the day before. "Come in," she said as she knew she couldn't really turn him away. After the door was closed she asked, "Why did you stop by?"_

 _"Well, since I was around… Lexington," Castle started to say before he flinched. "I decided to come and see you. I'm a little surprised you opened the door."_

 _"I don't blame you," Beckett said since she'd had him leave the night before after their near kiss. "Why is your hand behind your back?" she asked as he was holding something she could tell._

 _"It's nothing," Castle said, shaking his head quickly._

 _"Castle," Beckett said simply, raising one of her eyebrows slightly at him._

 _"Seriously, I'll just-" Castle started to say._

 _"Rick," Beckett then said firmly as she felt he needed a little more push._

 _That was enough for him and Castle quickly held out the flower in his hand, a larkspur that he'd picked up at a corner florist near her building. "It's not to say sorry again," he hurriedly told her. "But because it just… reminded me of you."_

 _"So you intended to come here," Beckett replied with a smile as she took the flower._

 _"I did but I thought a bouquet would be too much," Castle said. "And I know you like the color blue."_

 _"Thank you," Beckett replied._

 _"I better go," Castle said, watching her smile down at the flower before he felt a little awkward. He started to walk past her when her hand suddenly shot out and held his arm. He was taken aback when she suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him but was very quickly after responding to her. Holding her tightly against his body he felt her sliding her hands up into his hair and felt in that her desire for him which made him elated._

 _Beckett, once she and Castle had parted, watched her boyfriend rush to get the stem of flowers into a small vase before she went to him and taking his hand led him into her bedroom, squeezing his hand tightly._

* * *

"That story gets better every time," Julia breathed.

Smiling; and glad she'd remembered again not to end her story with them going into the bedroom; Beckett nodded and said, "That's not the only time though, definitely not the last."

"He likes giving you flowers," Julia said. She hugged her mother as tightly as she could and told her, "He didn't really know what the other white flowers meant; he hoped the delphinium and forget me nots were enough."

As that was her daughter's roundabout question as to what the flowers meant, Beckett searched her memory and then told her, "The forget me nots you know already."

"Yep but I wanted to hear you say it," Julia said.

"Of course," Beckett said with a nod. "And the paper whites are also called narcissus."

"Oh no, that's not good," Julia said with a frown as her big sister had told her what the word meant.

"It's okay," Beckett said reassuringly. "I know he got them for how they looked, not the meaning."

"Yeah," Julia said with a sigh. "At least you like them." When her mother nodded she smiled and then said, "Now what do we do?"

"Want to go for a walk with the dogs?" Beckett asked. When her daughter nodded she smiled and then got up with Julia before they headed to the foyer to get ready before they left for the beach.

"So Daddy's at his signing now huh?" Julia asked.

"Oh, it just started," Beckett said as she checked the time. "I wonder how long until he gets bored and texts us." When her daughter smiled and said, "Soon," she laughed softly as they continued down the beach arm in arm, waiting to see if she was right.

* * *

"Thank you so much, I have been waiting for hours and I'm so glad I made it here to the front," the woman was saying as Castle signed her copy of the graphic novel.

"Sorry about the wait but I hope this will be worth it," he said as he handed her the book. When she laughed slightly, a little high pitched, he nodded and watched her leave as the man behind her came up.

"So where's Heat?" he said while Castle was signing.

"If you mean the inspiration for Heat," Castle replied, not looking up from his signature. "Then you mean my wife and she's at home."

"Ah, have to take care of the kids," the man replied.

A little irritated Castle handed the book back and said, "She could have joined me but we're not trying to be absentee parents."

Shrugging the man then said as he left, "Whatever, you write good books though."

Trying his hardest not to roll his eyes Castle did his best not to look at the line there still was for the signing and he smiled slightly at the woman who was walking up to him, taking her book.

"I'm wondering," the woman then said. "Is there a reason why Nikki Heat doesn't look too much like your wife?"

Castle smiled; since it'd been asked repeatedly during the signing; and looked up at her about to speak when she interrupted him.

"Are you regretting basing the character on her? The magic's gone?" the woman said.

The smile was long gone before she'd finished speaking and Castle said, trying to modulate his voice, "That was my choice because she gets recognized as Heat often enough. I prefer my wife to be my wife and Heat to be part of my imagination."

"I'm sorry," the woman said, blanching since she'd sounded hopeful when she'd asked her questions.

Castle nodded and then tried to look somewhat happy when the next person walked up to him. He had no idea what he said after that, only remembering the questions about his wife and their oldest daughter. "Yeah," he was saying to one woman. "Julia's very happy with the response."

"She must be happy so many people are buying it," the woman then said.

"More because they'll read the story," Castle replied. "If you're wondering about the money she is getting some but she has no clue how much."

"Better that way," the woman said with a nod. "I hope she'll have another book."

"We will," Castle replied with a nod. He was nearly at the end of the time of the book signing and he couldn't be happier as he'd had little chance to text his wife. He sent off one person with a book and then signed the one after before an employee of the bookstore was telling the others in line that the book signing was over. He set down the pen they'd given him and stood, putting on his jacket as he shook the employee's hand and thanked him. Once he could leave he walked with McCann towards the front door and said, "The last one is on Thursday right?"

"Across town from here," the aide said with a nod. "So you're free until then, enjoy the city."

Shaking his hand Castle couldn't help be relieved as he left the bookstore, looking at the Washington Monument. Since it wasn't too far he walked towards the Mall, hoping the clouds wouldn't reform after clearing up once the snow had ceased.

When he was on the edge of the reflecting pool Castle looked around and couldn't help but wonder how the girls would react to seeing everything he was. But his thoughts soon went to his wife and he got his phone from his pocket. He texted her then, a quick message, that said, _Finished the signing I missed you but was busy_. He was a little startled when he got a call then and answered it immediately, as it was his wife. "Kate?" he said, unable to keep the joy out of his voice.

"Hey, I'm alone for the moment," Beckett told him. "The girls are looking at something with your mother. How was it?"

"While I said I was busy I was also bored out of my mind," Castle said. He then thought for a moment and sat down on a bench not covered in snow and said, "And kept thinking of you."

"They were asking about me?" Beckett asked him.

"Yeah," Castle replied before he then related what he'd been asked. When he'd finished he said, "Did you want her to look like you?"

"No," Beckett said firmly. "I told you when you asked me that I was fine if she looked different. So where are you now?"

"At The Mall," Castle told her. "I decided to take a walk. How're you?"

"I'm fine," Beckett said with a smile. "And you?"

"Okay, frustrated I'm always frustrated," Castle replied with a sigh. "Especially now."

"It's not much longer Rick," Beckett said. "And before I forget, thank you so much for the flowers."

"So Julia as able to pick them up," Castle said with a smile.

"Yes and she surprised me doing that too," Beckett told him.

"Good, mission accomplished," Castle replied. "It's alright I didn't go by their symbolism right?"

"It is, because the paper whites are narcissus," Beckett said, smiling at his still slightly concerned tone. "I loved them," she then said before her voice became a little absent.

"I'm glad to hear that. Are the girls finishing?" Castle said.

"Yeah we'll see you in a couple hours," Beckett told him. "But don't stay out there for too long."

"No, it's cold," Castle said, standing up. "I'll head back to the hotel… I may swim for a while. I'll take a picture of the pool for them so they can see okay?"

"Great," Beckett said with a smile. " _Try and work out those frustrations my love_."

" _I will_ ," Castle said. " _Well… I'll try. I'll talk to you later my love_."

" _See you then_ ," Beckett said simply.

Hanging up his phone Castle felt a little better but he looked up at the sky and decided that he should probably head back before it got any colder. He got up and started to walk back to the street where he could head to his hotel when he started feeling as if he was being watched. He adjusted his scarf to give him the chance to glance over his shoulder when he saw that someone was walking behind him, staring at him. "Can I help you?" he asked angrily, wondering why the man looked a little familiar.

"Yes you can Mr. Castle," the man replied, holding up his hand. "I'm in need of your assistance."


	7. Call Me Back Again (Part 2)

"So what do you think Kate?" Martha asked her daughter in law.

"It's the same kind of fabric," Beckett told her as she held the blue fabric over her fingers. "I might be cold though, at the end of October."

"I'll sew a sheer lining to it or an under dress, I can already hear my son telling me to do so," Martha said with a smile. "He wouldn't want his wife being cold of course."

"Of course," Beckett said.

"Can you imagine what your skirt will look like Mommy?" Julia said to her as she and Eliza were with them in their parents' bedroom.

"Not yet but it's beautiful," Beckett said to assure her mother in law. "And it'll be interesting to see what you do with this."

"You'll see," Martha replied as she took back the sample of the fabric. "When it gets into a dress shape more I will of course bring it for you to try on."

"I look forward to that," Beckett said with a smile as she stood up from the edge of the bed she and Martha were sitting on.

"Is it time to go?" Eliza asked hopefully.

"It is, we're not dressing up but I think you two should take a quick shower," Beckett said, taking off her sweater she'd been wearing, a t-shirt on underneath it.

"Both of us?" Julia asked in surprise since her sister didn't often take one.

"It'll waste less water and go much faster," Beckett told them.

"Are you going in with us?" Eliza asked her.

"No but I'll help you sweetie," Beckett said.

"I'll be downstairs once I'm ready," Martha said having remained in the room while they'd been talking.

"Great because I need you to watch them once they're ready," Beckett said. When her mother in law nodded she followed her with the girls to Julia's room and had them go into the bathroom before she then grabbed Eliza's outfit for dinner. Once they were undressed she had them go into the tub and she turned on the water before she washed Eliza while Julia took care of herself.

"Mommy," Julia said while she and her sister were drying off with Beckett's help.

"Yes," she replied, helping Eliza dress then.

"Did you talk to Daddy earlier?" Julia asked.

Beckett paused and then looked at the two saying, "I did, do you mind me doing that by myself? He texted me and he sounded a little sad so… I called him."

"'Cause you are too," Eliza said once she was in her sweater, skirt and leggings.

"I also think he was feeling a little lonely," Beckett said, not wanting to admit that her daughter was partially right. "So I just talked with him very quickly."

"Did you tell him about the flowers?" Julia asked.

"I did and I thanked him," Beckett replied as she tied the sash on her oldest's tunic dress in the back. "Can you get Eliza's brush for me? I forgot it."

"Yeah," Julia replied, leaving the room.

"I can get it Mommy," Eliza protested as she carried her out to Julia's bed.

"I know but I wanted just a quick second alone with you. Tomorrow we'll-" Beckett started to say before her phone was suddenly ringing. "It's your Daddy," she said as she looked at the screen and saw his picture.

"Is something wrong?" Julia asked, entering the room then and slowing down at the look of confusion on her mother's face.

"I'll see," Beckett replied, holding her free hand out to the little girl to take the brush. "Rick?"

"Hey love," Castle said. "Are you alone?"

"No, do you need me to be?" Beckett said, able to tell from his tone that he was being serious.

"No," Castle replied. "After I hung up with you on the Mall I was approached by a detective with the DCPD."

"Metro," Beckett said in a kind of question as she remembered Skye calling them that.

"Yeah he said there's been a series of murders," Castle said. "And he knows of our experience with Brad and in the city."

"What's so special about these murders?" Beckett asked as she knew there had to be a reason why the police in another city needed their help.

"They're made to resemble dioramas," Castle said. "And that's all I've been told. Don't hurt me over the phone but I told him I'd help and he said they need us both… because you're former NYPD. And I agreed to that."

"I'm not surprised," Beckett said though she felt her heart start to beat a little faster. "What do you think?" she then asked him.

"I would love to see you tomorrow Kate but… the girls," Castle said.

"Which is why you wanted me to be with them," Beckett said. She looked up and then saw Martha walking up to the doorway and she said, "Let me put you on speaker." As she did so she directed to the others, "The DCPD have asked for our help on a case."

"Really?" Martha said. "Richard, are you sure?"

"I know it seems like a ploy to get Kate down here," Castle said, not surprised she was thinking that. "But I wouldn't do that to her or the girls and if I had I would have done it way sooner."

"In that case, when can she leave?" Martha asked.

"Tomorrow, early," Castle said.

"You have a ticket already for me?" Beckett asked, distracted for the moment from talking to her mother in law.

"Yeah, you'll go to hangar twelve and they'll take care of you from there," Castle said.

Finding it strange that he wasn't telling her to go to a terminal Beckett guessed he must have gotten her a flight on a private plane. She then turned her attention to his mother and said, "It's alright with you?"

"You know that already," Martha said in a slightly teasing tone. "I would love to spend time with them."

"Girls?" Beckett then said, looking at them.

Julia and Eliza hugged their mother tightly before they said at the same time, "Go Mommy."

"Ah! Still creepy," Castle said, smiling at the sound of them giggling.

"Are you two sure? If I leave tomorrow you won't see either of us for five days," Beckett told them seriously.

"Yeah," Eliza said firmly before Julia could speak. "You can work with Daddy and see him too."

Smiling Beckett turned to hers and Castle's oldest to see what she would say in reply.

"I think the same as her," Julia replied. "You can see Daddy sooner and it'll be better if you go to work on the case with him. And we'll come for our vacation so we'll see you soon."

"Okay," Beckett said. "Then what time is the flight?"

"At nine," Castle said, having kept quiet while they'd spoken. "You'll get here around ten."

"Then I'll have to pack, I'll see you tomorrow Rick," Beckett told him.

"Wait we have to talk," Eliza said worriedly.

"We will after dinner," Beckett said. "We need to head out for our reservation."

"I was going to grab mine and bring it back," Castle told them. "So we'll talk after."

After they'd said goodbye to Castle and he'd said to same to them Beckett got up and said, "Let me change quickly and I'll be ready to go."

"What about packing?" Julia said as she followed her mother to the hall.

"Oh, your hair," Beckett said, stopping as she recalled then.

"I'll take care of them Kate, go ahead and get dressed," Martha said.

"Go with her," Beckett said to her oldest. "I'll pack later when Eliza's in bed if you want to keep me company?"

"I will," Julia said, beaming at her mother. When she went back into her room where their grandmother was brushing her hair she told Eliza, "At least now they won't be sad being apart."

"And you two won't be sad with them gone?" Martha asked.

"No, it's not that long," Julia said quickly. "And we'll get to see them on vacation."

"I like the way you think kiddo," Martha said before she then brushed her hair as Eliza hadn't wanted her styled in any way.

"Gram?" the toddler then asked. "What about 'lexis."

"We're talking to her tonight," Martha said. "After we speak to your father."

"She's gonna be surprised," Eliza said.

"About the case?" Julia asked as Martha put a ponytail holder on the end of her loose braid. When her little sister nodded she shook her head and said, "Uh-uh, she's probably expecting it."

"Alright girls," Martha said to them with a smile at their conversation. "Let's wait for your mother downstairs." She led them to the foyer and shortly after she had Eliza in her coat she heard Beckett coming down.

"I wish you could wear a dress Mommy," the toddler told her.

"I think she means she wishes Daddy were here so you could," Julia said when her mother looked at little confused.

"It's alright," Beckett said, going to get her red coat. "For now let's go because I'm starving and I want to have dinner with you two before I leave."

"And Gram too," Eliza said, pointing to Martha.

"I think I must go," she told her youngest granddaughter. "It's my treat tonight." She smiled as Eliza giggled and then took her hand as they all made their way to the garage.

Beckett drove them to the restaurant and once they were led inside to their usual table and had ordered she said, "I almost forgot to tell you sweetie," directing that to Julia. "Your daddy got a few questions about our book."

"Oh… really?" the little girl said in surprise.

"Yes," Beckett said. She then told her what Castle had said and she said, "So you're following in our footsteps," with a smile on her face.

"Is it okay if I'm a dancer too?" Julia said seriously.

Beckett, since she was sitting with Julia on that side of the table, ran her hand over the little girl's hair and said, "You can do whatever you'd like as a career as long as it's legal."

Covering her mouth with her hand as she giggled Julia said, "I knew you were gonna say that."

"But that brings me to another subject," Beckett said. "Tell us about how your day went," she told Eliza and Martha across the table.

As the two started to talk, mostly her little sister, Julia studied her and wondered if Eliza would be upset that she wasn't going to spend a day alone with their mother as she had gotten to do. But they'd talked about that on the drive to the restaurant and Martha had promised to spend the day with her and Beckett would spend the day with Eliza once they were back home. She had to pay attention then as it was her turn to tell them about hers and her mother's day.

"Was Storm kay?" Eliza asked after they'd finished.

"He's doing great," Beckett assured her before their order was placed in front of them since they'd ordered it before talking.

After they had eaten for a while Eliza asked her mother, "Are you gonna go places?"

Before Beckett could answer that Julia suddenly said, "You'll be with Daddy on Valentine's Day!"

"I know," Beckett replied with a slight smile. "And I don't think we'll do too much," she said to answer Eliza's question. "We won't forget we're going to places with you but we might stop at a few. What I don't know," she then said quickly as she could see the toddler was going to ask something. "We'll see when we're finished with the case."

"What else is there to see besides the places we're going to go?" Julia then said.

"Again, your daddy has the travel book so I have no idea," Beckett said.

"You could take pictures of places we'll be going to," Julia suggested.

"We could," Beckett said slightly with a smile. "It also depends on the weather."

"Go swimming!" Eliza cried out happily.

"You heard your daddy was going to do that?" Beckett asked with a smile.

"Yep," Eliza said. "You can do that too."

"I might," Beckett replied, smiling a bit before she turned her attention back to her food. She then thought of something and said, "What will you do tomorrow with your gram?"

"Does Julia have homework?" Martha asked. When Beckett and the little girl shook their heads no she then smiled and said, "Then we could play together, stay at home for the day. And then we can see if I can't get started on your mother's dress."

Beckett was going to protest that as she didn't think the girls would really want to do that but she was interrupted by the two gasping and begging Martha to let them watch her do that. "Are they going to help you?" she asked her mother in law.

"Julia perhaps," Martha said. "If she'd like to practice a few stitches. And while I'm working on that I'll allow them to have some art time."

"That's fun too," Eliza told her mother seriously.

"And don't worry Mommy," Julia said. "We have fun with Gram."

Smiling Beckett said, "I didn't think you don't, I just want to make absolutely sure you're okay with me going. And I know your daddy does too."

"Tell him we are," Julia said. "And we'll miss you both still."

"Alright," Beckett said with a smile before she let Martha talk about the rest of their Halloween costumes since her mother in law had gotten the materials along with the ones for her dress.

After they had finished the meal the group headed back to the house and inside Julia said, "What now?"

"One game," Beckett said.

"I wanna play with cards," Eliza said hurriedly.

"Okay then let's get you changed into your pajamas so we don't have to stop playing early for that," Beckett told them.

"I'll stay here," Martha said. "Getting the cards ready for us."

"Just get a regular deck," Beckett told her before she took the girls upstairs. She had Julia go and change while she helped Eliza and as she finished told her, "We're looking forward to you coming down to DC already."  
"I know," the toddler said as her mother then took her into the bathroom. She brushed her teeth and then said, "Are you afraid to leave?"

"No," Beckett said quickly. "I feel bad to leave you two."

"Oh," Eliza said. She then looked thoughtful and said, "Don't be Mommy."

"Okay," Beckett replied with a slight laugh before she picked up her daughter and carried her to Julia's room.

"I'm ready," the little girl said quickly as she hurried to the door. "How long can we play?"

"You're forgetting something," Beckett said with a smile to the two girls.

"Daddy!" Eliza said. "And 'lexis too!"

"Oh yeah… did you really want us to change and brush our teeth or did you forget too?" Julia asked.

"No, I remembered," Beckett replied. "So now we'll talk to your Daddy and sister and then play however long is left until Eliza needs to go to bed." Since by then they were downstairs she set Eliza down and texted her husband, seeing his immediate answer before she told the girls and Martha, "He's ready, sit down."

"Hey everyone," Castle said. "Love," he then told his wife. "Ready?"

"Ready," Beckett said, knowing their daughters and his mother were looking at her in confusion. She didn't respond to their unasked questions, instead she pressed a button on the corner and heard both Eliza and Julia cry out when their sister appeared on the right side of the screen. "Conference call," she told Martha.

"A wonderful surprise," Castle's mother said with a smile. "Darling, how are you?"

"Good, almost burned out after that paper but it's done and now I have the rest of the weekend free," Alexis replied.

"Going to do anything with Louis?" Castle asked her.

"We're going to lunch tomorrow since he was busy with homework himself today," Alexis said with a soft smile at the thought of her boyfriend. "But speaking of today, I want to know all about your days today and how they went."

After Julia nudged her to go first Eliza talked about what she'd done with their grandmother before showing the sample of fabric they'd shown Beckett earlier at the end. "See? It's pretty," she told the two.

"It is," Castle said. "But it looks chilly for October; the end of October."

Glancing over at Martha; who'd stepped up so she'd be visible as well; Beckett told her husband, "Your mother's planning to sew a lining underneath."

"Or a dress so she'll be warm of course, since I know she'll be heading out with you to trick or treat," Martha assured her son. "Now I think it's Julia's turn."

"We went riding," the little girl started with. "But you knew already."

"I had an idea." "I knew your mom wouldn't miss the chance," Alexis and then Castle said at nearly the same time.

"Julius still misses you but he was glad to get to ride again," Julia said. "I think he knows that spring is coming."

"Yeah they remember the storms," Castle replied. "And then what did you two get up to?"

"We had lunch downtown and after we went to the bookstore," Julia said before she paused. When her father and sister urged her to continue she related the mother and daughter that had her sign their copy of their book. "They were happy we did that."

"I'm not surprised," Castle said. "People usually are happy when you sign their books. And that was it?"

"I got a book and after we went to the flower shop," Julia said, smiling at her mother.

"Your father," Beckett began saying to Alexis; since she was the only one who didn't know. "Ordered a bouquet for me and luckily it was ready for Julia to pick up and pay for."

"Nice," Alexis replied. She listened to Julia talk about the walk she and her mother had gone on after they'd returned home and then the time they'd spent with Martha and Eliza up until that point. "Sounds like you had great days," she commented.

"You should go next," Castle told his daughter.

"Since I was on my own I went to the bookstore near here and bought a book to take to the café. I stayed there for a few hours and read, had lunch and later a coffee until Louis called and we met at the Greek place for dinner," Alexis said.

"You're relaxing after your paper," Martha said as she could see that the girls were a little confused at the simplicity of her day.

"Exactly, I needed it badly," Alexis said in agreement. "Now your turn Dad."

Watching her husband as he related what he'd done Beckett wasn't surprised to be able to tell that he was visibly happier. She knew it was because he was going to be seeing her the next day and she had to wonder if Alexis knew about it. But once Castle talked about meeting the detective she realized she would know then.

"Oh really? Great," Alexis said as her father told her that her stepmother was going to join him. "Gram told me that you were a little depressed and she needed to go early."

"Tell me I'm wrong Richard and I'll take back what I said," Martha said simply to him when he looked to her.

Castle sighed but the slight smile on his face tempered any annoyance before he said, "We're still having the vacation of course. Which we're looking forward too."

"I better get going," Alexis said. "It's a little late here and I don't want to fall asleep over lunch with Louis."

"Have fun tomorrow kiddo," Martha said. "And tell your lad we all said hello."

Smiling at her grandmother's nickname for her boyfriend Alexis nodded and said, "I will. Okay so Dad and Gram, I love you and goodnight. Kate night and love you; please watch out for my dad."

Understanding then why her stepdaughter had spoken to her after the two Beckett said, "Believe me, I intend to."

"Good. And Julia, Eliza? I love you too, night," Alexis directed to her little sisters last.

"Night, I love you 'lexis," Eliza said, waving her hand at her sister.

"I love you 'lexis, have fun tomorrow," Julia said, waving once. "Daddy we're okay and we're glad you're gonna be together," she said as soon as only Castle was on the screen.

"I just want to make sure," Castle replied.

"Mommy did that," Eliza said firmly.

"Okay, so I should say goodnight too," Castle said. "I know you're going to play a game after this until Eliza needs to go to sleep. So tomorrow your mom will be with me when we call girls."

"Good," the two said together.

Castle couldn't help but laugh slightly and said, "Mother, thank you."

"It's not a problem Richard, enjoy your time with Kate," Martha said with a slight wave of her hand.

"Kate, we'll talk later," Castle said.

"We will," Beckett said with a nod of her head.

"Okay that leaves my girls," Castle told the two. "I love you Julia, Eliza, so much and I'm proud of you for being okay with us working in another city."

"That's fine," Julia told him. "You're gonna be helping someone. And I love you too Daddy, a lot."  
"I love you too and I say the same thing as her," Eliza said as she pointed to her sister.

Laughing Castle said goodbye to them before he turned off the connection and then turned off the TV and went over to the bedroom where he started to check to make sure that things were ready for the arrival of his wife. Once he was sure she'd be comfortable there with him he went into the bathroom to take a long shower to try and cut down the time until he could speak to her again.

Back at the house Beckett was watching Eliza studying her hand and smiled when she stuck her tongue out.

"Should I say that's a tell?" Martha said to her daughter in law.

"It's a little soon for that," Beckett said, still smiling.

"Well, it's an adorable tell," Martha replied.

"Do you have any fours?" Eliza asked.

"Go fish kiddo," Martha said.

With a smile; since her grandmother always added kiddo to the phrase when she or her sister were asking; Eliza picked up a card and cried out, "Uno!"

"That's the other game," Julia said with a laugh. "Did you want to play that?"

"Oh no you don't," Beckett told her swiftly as the two girls put down their cards face up.

"We haven't been playing that long Kate," Martha pointed out. "And they seem to want to play."

"Giving away their cards did clue me in on that myself," Beckett replied, shaking her head though she was smiling. "I'll get the game."

With that they switched the deck of cards to the UNO deck and began playing, managing to just barely squeeze in two games before Beckett saw the time.

"I'll go upstairs with you," Martha said as her daughter opened her mouth to tell the girls to say goodnight to her. "I'll need my rest myself to spend the day with my granddaughters."

"Are you excited Gram?" Julia asked as they left the room once they'd cleaned up with Beckett.

"Of course and for our trip together," Martha replied. They came to Eliza's room and she picked the toddler up at her insistence and kissed her saying, "I love you Eliza, I'll see you in the morning."

"Love you too Gram," Eliza told her before she was being placed down on the bed. "Love you Jules."

"Love you too Lizzy," Julia told her sister as she was standing on the edge of the frame so they'd be able to reach each other. She then turned to Martha and hugged her saying, "I love you Gram."

"I love you too darling, sweet dreams," Martha said before she shared a kiss with her and then headed out of the room after squeezing Beckett's arm on the way out.

"Sit sweetie," Beckett directed her daughter. As soon as she was doing so they embraced tightly and she then said, "I love you Eliza, sweet dreams tonight."

"Thank you Mommy, I love you too," Eliza replied, yawning a little widely. She made no protest as her mother made her lay down and she looked at the end of the bed where Rita was before she looked up at Beckett so they could share a kiss.

Once Eliza was set Beckett took Julia's hand and they headed over to the doorway. By the time they reached it she saw that the toddler was fast asleep and she smiled before turning off the lights. "Are you sure you just want to see me pack?" she asked once they were walking past the stairs to the master bedroom.

"Yep, I want to see what you'll take," Julia said in a matter of fact tone of voice.

"I think you just want to see what dress I'll take just in case on Valentine's Day," Beckett said wryly.

"Just in case? I bet Daddy's got plans now he knows you're gonna be there," Julia said firmly.

"Most likely," Beckett said with a soft laugh. Since she was going for just a bit over a week she took down one suitcase and one carryon case before she went to get her day wear first since it could go on the bottom. She took heavier clothing after checking what the weather would be like in DC and then went to take the dress she'd picked out for Valentine's Day first out to Julia.

"That's okay," the little girl said, frowning at the sight of the tighter black dress her mother had in hand. "But why not get the one you wore at Christmas?  
Beckett paused at that and then said, "You know that's not such a bad idea." She went back into the closet and grabbed that dress before setting it on the bed next to the suitcase before she packed her pajamas and then two more dresses; the first she'd worn her first Mother's Day and a new one that was in a garment bag Julia just watched her pack. "Okay, just the things in the bathroom and the carryon will be last," she told her daughter.

"What do you think you'll do when you see Daddy at the airport?" Julia asked her eagerly.

"I'm not sure," Beckett said, smiling a little as she hadn't thought of that yet. "Most likely hug him because we're going to be out in public."

"What about kissing him?" Julia said with a little frown as she stood at the sinks next to her mother.

"When we're not in public," Beckett replied with a smile.

"You're taking your camera right?" Julia then asked as her mother left her partially ready makeup bag to go back to the bedroom.

"Of course, I was thinking of you mentioning taking pictures of the buildings and there's a place in the city where the buildings will be very nice," Beckett said as she put in her red coat and then her dark blue and black coat on top of that. She had her Stella coat Castle had bought her in London but she would wear it the next day to have for the trip since it was her warmest one.

"Where's that?" Julia asked interestedly.

"Embassy Row," Beckett said. She then explained as the little girl looked interested, "They're places where different countries have representatives of their people and governments. Some have old buildings and some have new ones but from what I've seen they're beautiful; especially the old ones."

"It sounds like it, can you go inside? Maybe you can meet the…" Julia started to say.

"Ambassador," Beckett supplied.

"That, from Ireland," Julia told her.

"You most likely need to be invited," Beckett said. "But here," she said as she went to sit on the bed with her oldest. "Let me look for the building and also check and make sure it's on Embassy Row."

Leaning against her mother as she went on her phone, Julia saw the picture of the building first and said, "Ooh, it's pretty."

"It is and it's on the Row," Beckett said with a smile.

"Look for the one from Spain and then England," Julia said.

"And if I take pictures of them?" Beckett asked.

"I'll still want to see the pictures," Julia assured her.

"I don't know if it's on Embassy Row," Beckett said as they looked at the pictures of the Spanish Embassy.

"It's different," Julia said with a slight frown. "But at least they didn't destroy the old building."

"True," Beckett said before she then looked for the British embassy. "There," she told Julia, tilting the screen of her phone towards her.

"Oh, it looks like it does back at home for them," Julia said.

Beckett then smiled and said, "That's what these embassies are for and when you go to the embassy you are in fact in that country."

"Really?" Julia asked in awe. When her mother nodded she asked, "Can they do that?"

"They can," Beckett said. "So," she said, turning her finger in a circle so her daughter would do that herself. She then started to unbraid her hair and said, "You have a little more time, what do you want to do now?"

"What are you most excited to do in DC?" Julia asked as her mother told her to go over to the bathroom to get her comb she used for her and Eliza when she needed to.

"I think it's seeing you three come up to us," Beckett said. "Once you get off your flight."

"No," Julia said softly with a laugh. "To go do. First say what it is with Daddy."

Beckett didn't answer at first as she started to brush her hair and said, "I don't know, we didn't make plans for just the two of us."

"Still, there has to be somewhere," Julia insisted.

"Well there is a Crime and Punishment Museum that we can go to," Beckett said. "Your daddy hasn't seen that before and of course I haven't either."

"Cool, go there," Julia said as she crossed her legs and watched her mother go over to the bathroom. She lay down in the middle and said, "It's a big bed."

"It has to be, you know how tall your daddy is," Beckett said as she went to stand next to the bed with a smile, watching her.

"And you," Julia said. She gasped and then said, "The bed at the hotels were okay for Daddy right?"

"They were, he always asks for king size beds when he travels," Beckett told her. "Come here," she said as she held her arms out to Julia as she sat down and kissed her temple once she was next to her.

"I wish that we could go sooner," Julia confessed.

"There are two problems with that," Beckett told her.

"I know, we have school," Julia replied.

"And the fact that your daddy and I are going to be working together," Beckett told her.

"Yeah," Julia said. "But be careful, please?"

"We always do our best… oh," Beckett then said as she realized that Julia had figured out she wouldn't be armed there. "If the detectives are asking us to consult, then we'll just do that."

"But Brad-" Julia began.

"I know," Beckett interrupted. "Eventually we earned his trust and we're involved more but in DC it'll just be one case. And they'll make sure that we're safe."

"So they don't get in trouble?" Julia asked.

"Yeah," Beckett replied with a slight nod. She then leaned down and pressed a kiss to the top of her daughter's head saying, "I wish you wouldn't worry about us so much."

"But I need to," Julia protested. "You're my parents and I love you."

Beckett hugged her as tightly as she could before saying, "I love you too sweetie, so does your daddy. But try not to worry too much while we're gone."  
"I'll try," Julia said with a sigh before she then yawned.

"And now it's time for you to go to bed," Beckett said as she watched her doing that. "Let's go," she said before going to step on the floor with her. Macca followed them from where he'd been laying next to the bed and once they were in her oldest's bedroom she waited for the Wolfhound to jump up on his spot. She let Julia climb up on the bed herself and then sat next to her once her legs were tucked underneath the covers. "I'll wake you two up to say goodbye to me before the taxi gets here," she told her.

"Good but do we need to go back to bed after?" Julia asked.

"For a little," Beckett said. She hugged Julia again and then shared a kiss with her before telling her, "I love you sweetie, so much."

"I love you too Mommy, I'm glad you're happier now," Julia replied. She squeezed her mother tightly before she lay down and let her mother tuck her in. She watched her mother start to go to the door and then asked, "Can Eliza and I sleep with you tonight?"

"I don't want to wake her up," Beckett said, hesitating slightly.

"Okay," Julia said with a sigh. "Are you still gonna talk to Daddy?"

"Yes," Beckett said. "Now you need to go to sleep," she told her seriously.

"Night Mommy," Julia said.

"Goodnight Julia," Beckett told her with a slight smile. She turned off the light and remained in the doorway for just a little longer before finally she was sure her oldest was going to sleep. She then left her and went over to her room where she went to the shower, taking one rapidly as she wanted to make sure she was ready to talk to Castle when it was time. After she was dressed in her pajamas she then went over to the bed and first packed a few things she hadn't been able to with Julia watching. She paused at her dresser when a sudden idea came to her and packed slightly more before she made herself stop before her suitcase was overweight. She then sat up with her book, checking the time to gauge how much she had to read before she began to do so. She had about an hour so she broke up the time playing a game on her phone until it rang and saw her husband's picture was on the screen, answering it quickly.

"Hey," Castle said, sitting against the headboard of the bed.

"You don't want to talk via the tablets?" Beckett asked after she'd said hello to him.

"Oh… you do?" Castle asked, slightly surprised at that. "Wait," he said before he went to call her on his.

"Just because we're not going to use these for…" Beckett started to say before she trailed off. "You don't do you?"

"No, you need to get up early to get to the city," Castle said seriously, shaking his head. "Though I am going to miss it."

"Pervert," Beckett replied, returning his smile. "Remember tomorrow I will be there with you."

"I know, luckily this bed is huge and really nice," Castle said. He was slightly surprised when his wife laughed softly and he asked, "What is it?"

Beckett quickly told him what she and Julia had talked about concerning beds and she finished with, "Luckily she couldn't hear what was going through my head then."

"Which was what?" Castle asked with a slight smile.

"There are other advantages to having a larger bed," Beckett said in a very matter of fact tone. She then sighed and said, "I feel like it's been longer."

"We always feel like that; I wonder if it's the separation though that's making it more difficult," Castle told her.

"Maybe," Beckett said thoughtfully. "But of course tomorrow we'll be back together… if for a case."

"I know, I really didn't want it to be for that but… I think we're famous for that as well as the books," Castle said.

"Looks like it," Beckett said in amusement. "But let's try and at least keep Spring Break and our summer vacation investigation free."

"Agreed, though it'd be interesting to investigate something in Japan…" Castle said.

"Rick, don't tempt fate," Beckett told him teasingly. "How was your dinner and swimming?"

"Fine, nothing really interesting about that," Castle replied. "Although there is a nice restaurant here in the hotel. Would you mind going there for Valentine's Day? Or I could get somewhere else."

"First, again you're a pervert," Beckett said. "Because I know you're thinking about how easy it'll be to get to our room after. And second that's fine because I want the same."

"Great, I already got the table," Castle said. When his wife slightly raised her eyebrow at that he explained, "I had to tell the concierge it'd be two people here and they asked if I wanted a reservation for that night."

"You could have texted me," Beckett told him though she really didn't mind.

"True," Castle said. "I can always-"

"It's alright," Beckett quickly told him. "I do want to go but remember if something like this comes up again you can text me."

"I will," Castle told her seriously. "How're the girls doing?"

"Well right now they're asleep," Beckett said, slightly jokingly. "But I get the feeling they're relieved."

"Wow, if I wasn't sure how much they loved us I'd be worried," Castle said. "I wonder if it was harder for us."

"Of course but they still miss you," Beckett said. "They've been counting down too."

"True," Castle replied. "So about your ride with Julia earlier."

"Rick," Beckett said with a sigh. "We've talked about this before."

"I just don't understand why you don't want to get her a horse of her own," Castle said. He was surprised when she hesitated and asked, "What is it?"

"I don't want to spoil her," Beckett replied.

Opening his mouth immediately to respond to that Castle then paused and thought that over before he nodded. "Yeah, I can see why you'd think that. Well…" he stopped there and then said, "I feel bad we make her use other horses while you and I ride our own."

"I know but I want her to stay grounded," Beckett said. "If my parents had had the chance and had given me a horse I would have been completely spoiled. So I want to keep from doing that."

"Alright but if there is a horse we ever come across that's absolutely perfect for her, we're getting it," Castle said. "And maybe after we can have her work off some of the payment for it."

"By doing what?" Beckett said. "That would be a little cruel if you think about it. She's young and can't get a job."

Sighing Castle then said, "Fine, but I meant what I said before."

"Okay but we'll have to talk long and hard about that before we actually buy said horse," Beckett told him. "Also we should let her use Julius."

"Not Alex?" Castle asked with a smile.

"God no, I'd be terrified to let her go on him yet," Beckett said. She saw him yawn widely and asked, "Okay?"

"I'm just tired, I woke up early," Castle replied. "Except for the other night when I was-"

"Inebriated," Beckett quickly interrupted him. "Not wasted Rick, for the last time."

"Still, I haven't done that for a while," Castle said. "I lost control."

"Yet you haven't let it happen again," Beckett reminded him. "And I doubt you will once I'm there."

"True," Castle said. "But yeah, I'm tired myself."

"Then you should probably get some sleep," Beckett told him.

"It's still early," Castle protested.

"Now you sound like the girls," Beckett said with a smile.

"You're tired yourself," Castle suddenly said. When his wife looked at him he explained, "You just look like you are."

"I am," Beckett replied simply. "But what about the case?"

"I told you as much as I could," Castle said honestly.

"I know but… could I look it up at all?" Beckett said.

"I knew you weren't going to like this," Castle sighed. "But I swear we'll go to the 36th Precinct as soon as you're here."

Beckett nodded slightly and said, "I almost forgot something else that I was talking with Julia about. She asked what we'd be doing before they got there and I suggested walking around Embassy Row if we could do that."

"Oh… you know that's not a bad idea," Castle replied thoughtfully. "That'll be a great tour and I'm assuming your camera will be joining us."

"It will," Beckett told him with a smile. "I showed her a few of the embassies, though one of them isn't in the area."

"Spain?" Castle asked.

"Then Ireland and England," Beckett said with a nod. "She asked if at the Irish one we could go inside."

"Too bad, it would be interesting if the ambassador wanted to meet us," Castle said.

"I don't think we're that important," Beckett said with a sigh though she was smiling a bit.

"Maybe we are, we've discussed our Irish-ness often," Castle replied. "We wrote that article in the _Hamptons Magazine_ about our two trips there remember."

"True but do you think that they'd read that?" Beckett asked.

"You may have a point," Castle said, thinking that over for a moment. "Alright, we'll just walk around have a nice lunch and then…"

"We'll figure it out later Rick," Beckett told him. "We have time."

"True," Castle said. "I'm a little impatient."

"I can tell," Beckett said as she leaned back slightly against the pillows behind her. "I am too."

"Oh good, I thought I was alone," Castle said in relief. They were quiet for a moment and he then said, "Especially at this moment." He looked at her closely and then said, "I'm still going to dream of you tonight."

Beckett couldn't help smile and she told him, "So will I and yes, the second we can."

Castle wasn't surprised that his wife had been able to guess what he wasn't going to ask and then told her, "That shouldn't be a surprise."

"It's not but you can tell me Rick," Beckett said, chiding him slightly at the same time. She then smiled and told him, "I'm already thinking how things will go."

"Don't put ideas into my head right now," Castle said, almost groaning as he spoke.

"What have you been doing in the mornings?" Beckett asked him. When her husband looked at her in confusion she explained, "For that," with a quick jerk of her chin towards his groin.

"I just let myself calm, eating breakfast. You don't believe me do you?" Castle tried to explain. When his wife's expression of doubt didn't change he sighed and told her, "Remember you call me a pervert; I take a shower; or just pleasure myself here on the bed if the dream was really good. I meant whatever bed I was on."

"I won't call you a pervert," Beckett said. "Not for this." She wasn't surprised to see her husband's startled expression and said, "It's understandable."

"Oh, you've done the same haven't you?" Castle said in realization. When she didn't reply and instead just bit at her lower lip he smiled before he told her, "Probably better you're coming." When she gave him a look he said, "Not that… though I hope you will eventually."

Beckett shook her head and rolled her eyes before she said, "You should get some sleep."

"Yeah I know," Castle said with a sigh. "I was going to read a little though, before I try to."

"I already did that," Beckett said.

"What, no writing?" Castle asked jokingly.

"I finished what needed to be done," Beckett replied. "And we only have a little left to go."

"When we come back?" Castle asked.

"No I think we can wait a little before starting it," Beckett said. She looked thoughtful for a moment before saying, "I would like to finish the next chapter before we head to Japan."

"Are you saying that because you don't think I could?" Castle asked jokingly.

"Us love and I think I know how things will go while the girls are at school," Beckett said wryly.

"Oh come on," Castle said in mock exasperation.

"Rick," Beckett said simply.

"Okay, so I might not be able to keep my hands off you but still," Castle told her simply.

"We'll see how things go when we come home," Beckett replied. "Are we set with what we want to have happen in the chapter for now?"

"Moor finds Green and they start to look at the alibis for those that weren't in the ballroom for each murder," Castle said.

"Are we sure about taking the endings of the movie _Clue_ and fitting them to our story?" Beckett said doubtfully.

"It does make more sense," Castle reminded her.

"True," Beckett said. "I can't imagine it being easy for them to really do that many murders on their own."

"Exactly, which is why we should have realized the murders at the B&B were fake," Castle said.

"They knew what they were doing," Beckett replied with a smile. She then said suddenly, "Julia asked if she and Eliza could spend the night here."

Castle wanted to reply to that but he knew that she was alone in the room so he hesitated before telling her, "Why don't you let them?"

"It's late and I don't want to wake them up," Beckett said though she didn't really sound that convincing.

"Let them," Castle urged her. "I hate you all alone."

Beckett laughed at that and then said, "And you?"

"I have to be," Castle replied. "Plus you're going to join me so it doesn't matter. Just tonight and then they'll be in their beds after this."

Beckett smiled and then said, "Alright but to do that we need to say goodnight."

"Right," Castle began.

Hearing the hesitation in his voice Beckett was pleased but she knew she needed to let him go so she told him, "Skip reading, I want you rested so we can take as much time as we need to catch up."

Seeing that she was serious Castle nodded rapidly and then said, "I'll see you tomorrow at Dulles. I love you Kate."

"I love you too Rick," Beckett replied. "Goodnight."

After saying the same to his wife Castle turned off the tablet and then looked around the room, relieved it would be his last night alone. He thought of what his wife had said and he turned off the light on the nightstand, deciding that sleep was very important at that moment as he lay down on the pillow that had been his backrest and quickly closed his eyes.

Setting her tablet on her nightstand Beckett checked the alarm on her phone for the next morning and seeing it was set for six got up to head to Julia's room first. She hesitated then as her oldest looked so peaceful but finally sat down and ran her hand over her hair saying softly, "Sweetie?"

Opening her eyes Julia was startled to see her mother and asked, "Mommy, what's wrong?"

"No," Beckett said quickly. "I want you and Eliza to sleep with me in my bed tonight. Do you still want to?"

"Yeah," Julia replied quickly, sitting up then. She hugged her mother tightly before they left and they walked together to Eliza's room.

It took a little more time to wake up the toddler but soon Beckett was walking with her daughters down the hall back to her room where she laid Eliza in the middle and once Julia was with them covered them all. She wasn't surprised when the toddler fell back asleep quickly and then raised her head to see that Julia was awake still. "Get some rest," she said gently, stroking the backs of her fingers over her cheek.

"Did you talk to Daddy?" Julia asked her. When her mother nodded she smiled and said sleepily, "Are you excited."

"I'm eager," Beckett said. "And after that I'm eager for our vacation."

"Good, night Mommy," Julia said with a sigh. When she felt her mother kiss her temple she smiled again and then looked up to see her kissing Eliza's temple as well before she lay down and she allowed herself to sleep.

Holding Eliza to her Beckett watched her daughters for a moment before she then closed her eyes. While she was eager to finally see her husband she didn't want to leave her daughters just yet. And as she nodded off she took comfort in their deep breathing until she was dreaming before she knew it, seeing Castle once more.


	8. Off The Ground

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: I was very happy to receive the feedback I did for the last chapter so I'll move onto my thank yous for them right now! vetgirlmx (Glad to see you thought the last chapter was very good first off. And great you liked the way they were asked to help with the case since as you mentioned they're working with new people. And with that I'm glad you think it's fun when they work with new people, it'd definitely interesting to write! And yeah, it was a bit weird the way that guy approached Castle but I suppose I was going for a bit of mystery with that, whoops. When you mentioned Beckett and Julia not having too many days alone like they did in the chapter I realized you're right so with that I'm not surprised that you enjoyed their time together. Also yeah, since Eliza only has half days at school she did get alone time with Beckett so in the end it worked out. Glad that you enjoyed Beckett and Lily's talk too, I thought you might and not surprised you thought it was funny nobody was buying the façade that Beckett was trying to put up, lol, can't see her stopping though. I had wondered what the reaction would be to the flashback with Castle and Beckett sparring in front of the girls so I was really pleased to see you loved it! And yeah, it would be scary to see them doing that for Eliza but that's definitely why I had Julia there to help out. Though you made a great point, Beckett has much better training so she can get the best of Castle as she did. Really nice to see everything you found interesting in the chapter and I'm glad you can't wait to read the next chapter which you don't need to do anymore!), TORONTOSUN (Great you could tell that Castle's getting frustrated not being with the girls and Beckett. I figured he would start to be by now. Not surprised that you liked the way Martha and Alexis were in the last chapter. And yeah, Castle never could really pass up a case lol, so of course he couldn't here even in another city. And really happy that you enjoyed the end with the girls and Beckett!) and Guest (I'm happy to read you thought the last chapter was great. And nice to see you're glad that Beckett's going a little early and will see Castle again, also that you mentioned the girls not minding her going so soon. And you're right; I don't really write them misbehaving much… I suppose I write them on their good days, lol, though there are times I remember to put something). Thanks so much for the reviews, I greatly appreciate them and loved reading them, thank you all for taking the time to write them out and send them to me!

A/N #2: The title of this chapter is the name of a song by Paul McCartney, from his album of the same name as well.

Off The Ground

Sitting up Beckett ran her hand over Eliza's hair before leaned down and pressed a kiss to the side of her head. Glancing over to Julia she paused then as she saw that the other side of the bed was empty and she started to get out from under the covers when she heard the sound of someone running barefoot. "Julia," she said as soon as her oldest appeared in doorway. "Where did you go?"

"To get you this," Julia replied after pausing for a moment when her mother had said her name. She came over to her side of the bed and gave her mother the bar and bottle of orange juice she had brought from the kitchen. "You're gonna have to get ready fast aren't you?" she asked at the surprised look on her mother's face.

"Yes, thank you sweetie," Beckett said, having her get up on the bed with her. She wrapped her arms around her tightly and held her close telling her, "I wish I could have breakfast with you before I go."

"It's okay, we'll eat breakfast when we come back," Julia replied.

"We'll eat in DC too," Beckett assured her.

"Oh, then we'll eat then," Julia said. "And the best part is Daddy will be with us."

"That's true," Beckett replied with a smile, kissing her cheek. "Thank you again Julia."

At that moment the alarm on her mother's phone started to go off and Julia glanced at it with her before saying, "I don't like saying bye," looking back at her.

"Neither do I but we don't have to say it," Beckett replied as she turned off the alarm. "Hey," she said as she saw that the noise had awoken Eliza.

"Mommy?" the toddler asked, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"Remember Mommy leaves to go with Daddy today," Julia told her.

"Oh yeah," Eliza said, smiling but still sleepy so she wasn't that exuberant. "Are you happy?"

"I am but first I need to get ready. While I'm doing that you two can go back to sleep," Beckett told them, helping Eliza lay back down. "Julia-"

"I want to stay with you while you get ready Mommy," the little girl interrupted her.

Beckett opened her mouth to protest but seeing the serious expression on her daughter's face she finally caved in and checked on Eliza. There was little surprise that she was fast asleep so she helped her oldest off the bed before joining her.

Once inside the closet Julia sat on the couch there while her mother changed out of her pajamas and said, "You're not gonna wear something prettier?"

"I'm going to be working on the case," Beckett said, a smile on her face as she wasn't surprised her daughter said that. "Not spending the day with your daddy. This is enough."

Looking at her mother thoughtfully Julia nodded and then said, "You're right, Daddy's happy whatever you wear."

Slightly embarrassed at how sure her daughter was Beckett hurried to finish buttoning the blouse she was wearing before she led Julia to the bathroom where she washed up and brushed her hair. "I need to make a last check on my things," she told her daughter. "Now I can pack the rest of the things I need. And then weigh my suitcase to make sure I'm not overweight."

"Kay… do I have to go back to sleep?" Julia asked with a slight frown.

"No but you can sit while I'm doing that," Beckett said, taking her out to the armchairs. "Where are your slippers?"

"Over there," Julia said. When her mother just looked at her she sighed softly and then went to where they were, putting them on. She sat on one of the armchairs as she watched her mother finishing with her suitcases before she leaned back. She had no idea when she'd fallen asleep but suddenly Beckett was touching her shoulder and she slightly jumped at that. "I fell asleep?"

"Just for a little bit," Beckett replied. "Want to sit with me while I eat?"

"Sure," Julia said, getting up so her mother could sit. She climbed onto her lap and leaned against her while Beckett started eating her bar and drank her orange juice. "Are you gonna get coffee later?" she asked.

"I was planning on it," Beckett said. "It's going to be an early flight."

"At least after this Daddy can get coffee for you," Julia told her.

"True," Beckett said with a slight laugh. "You want any?" she then said, showing her the bar.

"No thank you," Julia replied. She watched her mother finishing and then said, "How much time is left?"

Checking her watch Beckett said, "Twenty minutes, I need to get everything ready."

"Good morning," Martha said, coming up to the doorway as Beckett was picking up Eliza. "You're all ready to go it looks like."

"Just about," Beckett replied. "You're sure you don't want to go back to bed?" she asked Eliza who was yawning widely in her arms.

"After you go in the taxi," the toddler told her seriously.

"Alright, go with your gram for now I need to get my suitcase," Beckett said.

"I can get it," Eliza said.

"I'm afraid not kiddo," Martha told her as she took the toddler from her daughter in law. "We'll go downstairs with your mother though, don't worry." She followed Beckett over to the staircase and watched as the dogs went ahead of them before they went down to the foyer. "You're not going to have breakfast?" she asked.

"Julia brought it upstairs to me," Beckett said with a smile, looking at her oldest.

"I thought Mommy should eat before she goes," the little girl replied.

"True, she should," Martha replied as they watched Beckett going back up to get her carryon and bag. "How're you feeling?"

"Okay," Julia said. "Not sad," she then added, realizing that was what her grandmother was asking about.

"She's not," Beckett said from the top of the stairs. She went down to them and said, "I feel like checking for my ticket."

"Strange that Richard didn't set up a normal flight," Martha said. "Well… I suppose he wanted to spoil you a bit."

"Probably," Beckett said with a smile as she set her things down. "Alright," she told them. "The cab will be here in ten minutes so let me say goodbye to you here instead of out on the sidewalk."

"Are you okay if I set you down?" Martha asked Eliza. When her granddaughter nodded she kissed her cheek and then put her next to her sister before she hugged Beckett. "Tell my son I'm proud of him," she said.

"Why?" Beckett asked, a little confused.

"For managing to not find a way to have you go down to him sooner," Martha said.

With a brief laugh since she knew her mother in law was joking Beckett said, "I thought he might think of trying that but knew he wouldn't go through with it in the end."

"Try to have some fun while you're there," Martha told her. "Hopefully once you've solved the case and before we get there."

"We'll try," Beckett said. "To be honest," she told her while she was sitting on the bench. "I'm just glad to be able to see him again."

Martha nodded and smiled as she watched her take Eliza on her lap, hugging her tightly. "They'll be alright," she felt compelled to say again.

"I know," Beckett replied with a smile as the toddler was wrapping her arms tightly around her neck. "I'll miss you sweetie but you'll have fun with your gram. And make sure you pay attention at school and listen to her too," she told Eliza.

"I will Mommy," the toddler replied. "Will you kiss Daddy for me?"

"Of course," Beckett said, kissing her forehead. "One kiss goodnight okay?" At Eliza's nod they shared a quick kiss and she told her seriously, "I love you sweetie."

"Love you Mommy, have fun with Daddy," Eliza replied.

"I'm sure I will," Beckett said. She hugged her youngest tightly one last time and then saw that Julia was holding onto the collars of the dogs. "You want me to say goodbye to them first?" she asked her.

"Yep, I'll say bye last," the little girl replied. She smiled when Beckett held Rita's head in her hands and began to scratch behind her ears before telling her goodbye and to listen to them.

"I'll take you two out on a run once I get back," Beckett said then to Macca as he put his paw on her leg. "And Rick will be back so we'll try to take him with us." She scratched behind the Wolfhound's ears and then sat up straight, looking at her oldest.

Throwing herself almost at her mother Julia said, "Oh Mommy I'm so excited for you!"

Laughing softly Beckett embraced her back and said, "Usually you don't hear that when you're leaving your daughters."

"No but we're gonna see you," Julia said firmly. She kissed her mother's cheek and said, "Kiss Daddy for me too."

"I will," Beckett said. "Now what I told your sister applies to you, have fun with your gram, pay attention in school and to your gram as well."

"We will," Julia reassured her. She hugged her tighter and told her, "I'll miss you still."

"I'll miss you both," Beckett said. She then shared a kiss with her daughter before telling her, "I love you Julia."

"I love you too Mommy," the little girl said earnestly. "See you on Friday."

"See you," Beckett said, kissing her forehead. She then held her arm out to Eliza and once the two were in her arms she embraced them to her before kissing their foreheads. Once she let them go she heard the chime for the gate and went over to the intercom saying, "Are you the taxi?"

"Yeah," a man said from the other end.

"I'll be out right now," Beckett said. "Julia, can you take my bag?"

"I'll bring your carryon," Martha told her.

"What do I bring?" Eliza asked.

"Yourself," Beckett said, running her hand over the back of her head before they left the house. Outside the gate she told the dogs to stay in the front and then went to the cab to hand over her suitcase before she took the carryon from her mother in law. "Give me five minutes?" she told the driver. When he nodded and then went over to the driver's seat she turned to her family and smiled as Martha hugged her briefly first.

"Safe flight darling," Castle's mother told her.

"Thank you, you too," Beckett replied. She then picked up Eliza and kissed her cheek as the toddler hugged her tightly and said, "See you later sweetie."

"See you Mommy," Eliza said simply.

Embracing her mother as she hugged her Julia said, "See you tonight Mommy."

"See you Julia, have fun today. Both of you," Beckett said. She took her bag from Julia and then went to the back of the cab before they pulled away and she waved out the open window until she couldn't see the three anymore.

"Well, I have to admit girls," Martha said to her granddaughters. "I wish I could see that reunion."

"Yeah," Julia said with a smile. "Too bad we couldn't see it. But at least they'll be together again."

"Yeah," Eliza said, not meaning to echo her sister. "And they will be happy."

"Very," Martha said. "Now you two, let's get a little more sleep before we begin our day."

Julia looked back at the street for a moment before she turned to go with her grandmother and sister, smiling slightly as she couldn't wait for that week to be over even more than she'd originally started out feeling.

* * *

Once she had arrived at JFK Beckett had been handed over to a number of people as she was led through a few of the terminals in the airport. She was a little annoyed as she was led outside one of them to an electric cart with two seats but went with the worker to a hangar where he told her she'd find her plane. She wanted to ask him where but the employee had taken off as soon as she was off the vehicle and had her carryon and suitcase. Frowning slightly she went over to the hangar and saw there was a plane, what she recognized as a Piper Malibu from what Castle had told her about the company's aircraft. She was startled to see the small shamrock on the tail in a deep green contrasting with the sky blue lines on it and was then shaken from her study of the paint scheme when she heard a familiar voice speaking in Irish.

Going around the back of the plane Beckett stopped short when she saw two women looking at the wing. "Skye?" she said.

"Oh, here she is," the investigator said, turning around quickly. "Our passenger, how're you doing Kate?"

"Good, you're going to DC?" Beckett asked since the woman hadn't mentioned it to her in their e-mails.

"I am, to bring together what's ended up being two halves of an investigation," Skye told her.

"I'm just along for company," Mary said with a smile as her wife then turned to their friend and hugged her since she'd finished checking on the wing. Hugging a slightly smiling Beckett after she said, "And we're glad to have you join us. So a case in DC?"

"Yeah," Beckett said as she followed them around the rest of the plane. "It happens."

"It does," Skye said slightly absently. "Okay, we're all checked out and we're supposed to be on the runway in ten minutes."

"How's the fuel?" Mary asked as she and Beckett watched Skye go over to her luggage.

"We're set," the investigator said while she was struggling with the suitcase. She felt someone assisting her and smiled at Beckett. "How're you doing now you know you're on your way?"

"I'm much better," Beckett said as she'd written a few e-mails to her friend. She had been a little more honest in those messages as she was aware that Skye would know how she and Castle felt, since she and Mary went through that with every out of town investigation the former had. " _How long does it take you two to be better… to be reacquainted_?" she then asked in Russian.

Skye looked at her friend in slight surprise but when she saw that she was serious she smiled in understanding and said in the same language, " _Time, it always takes time no matter how long it is. As close as she and I are; as close as you and your husband are; it takes time to get back to what we were. You and_ Rick _will be the same_."

"Most likely," Beckett said. "So this is your plane," she told her to change the subject.

"You haven't been on her yet have you?" Skye said with a smile once the carryon was in place and they could get into the plane.

"No, was this paint scheme yours?" Beckett asked. "And she's a Malibu right?"

"I let her get it for the space," Mary said to the two as they came into the plane.

"You're not going to sit here?" Beckett asked, hesitating as she saw the woman was behind the cockpit.

"She doesn't mind back there," Skye replied as she put on the earphones above her seat. "You're welcome to use those. And to answer your questions first the scheme was my design; blue as we all love the color and a shamrock for the four of us. Lastly she is in fact a Malibu, a beautiful Malibu."

"It is nice," Beckett said.

"By the way," Skye told her before she began to start the plane. "You're sitting on my co-pilot's lap…"

Looking over at her Beckett was startled to see the woman begin to laugh and she said, "I should apologize but what's their name?"

"That would be Harvey, Harvey the rabbit," Skye said. She looked over at Beckett as she'd laughed and said, "You've seen the movie?"

"When you told Rick about it of course he rushed to see it," Beckett replied. "I thought the pilot should have been Claude Rains, not you."

"Well what can you do?" Skye said jokingly. "How many times has he seen the movie?" she then asked as she left the hangar behind and went down to the runway.

"Many times," Beckett said, unable to help smile at the memories of watching the _Mystery Science Theater 3000_ movie with her husband. She looked on as they came to the end of the runway and very soon Skye was given clearance. Making sure her seatbelt was secure she couldn't help feel a slight rush of excitement at the thought they were almost on their way.

After she'd started down the runway Skye was soon calling out, "V1… rotate…" With that she climbed until she could level the plane out and said to Beckett, "Mind checking on my wife for me?"

Turning Beckett said, "She's alright."

"I'm fine," Mary said, slapping the back of her wife's shoulder with the back of her hand. "You do that every flight in your plane."

"Because you never relax," Skye told her teasingly. "Alright, we should be there in an hour."

"And Rick will be waiting for us?" Beckett asked.

"He should be, kept calling me while we were trying to get the plane prepared," Skye said wryly. "But I could see how much he missed you. Yes _grá_?" she then said to her wife as she gently squeezed her shoulder.

"I'm going to get some rest," Mary told her. "Talk away."

Looking behind her after Skye had wished her wife a good nap Beckett saw that Mary was putting on some noise cancelling headphones and she smiled as she looked forward again. "Did you have to go out of town for this case?" she asked.

"I did, to Portland," Skye said. "In Oregon," she added rapidly. "Nearly forgot about Portland, Maine on this end. But it was only for a month."

"Only?" Beckett said incredulously.

"No, not only," Skye said with a slight sigh. "I say that so people don't know I'm straining to be with Mary during that time."

"Is that because you're a female investigator?" Beckett asked her carefully.

"Mmm, it is," Skye said. At that moment she had to talk to air control and did so rapidly before saying, "If you were still a detective, you wouldn't be that showy with Rick at your station would you?"

"No," Beckett said slowly. When she saw her friend was looking at her questioningly she explained, "I never thought about that. And really we couldn't do that anyway."

"You know it'd be next to impossible to hide a marriage," Skye stated.

"I'm aware and I don't think we would have tried to cover that up," Beckett replied.

"Okay," Skye said. "But yeah, we miss each other. There's a certain kind of… acceptance on her part that I go but neither of us really enjoy it."

"So she doesn't hold you back but she doesn't shove you out the door either," Beckett suggested.

Laughing Skye nodded and said, "Aye, that's exactly it."

"How're your girls?" Beckett asked after she'd spent the next few minutes of silence looking out the windows at the view below.

"Good, they'll miss us but they're glad we're together," Skye said. "I can imagine it bothers them to see their mom alone. And your daughters?"

"It's basically the same as yours," Beckett replied. "But we'll be seeing them very soon."

"Of course," Skye replied. "I have no idea how long we'll be here but we'll head home and do something with them. We're not sure what since we can't do much outdoor activities…"

"Have you been to Disneyland lately?" Beckett asked her.

Skye froze for a moment at that and then said, "You make a good point we haven't gone since you went with us." She then smiled and added, "Time for us to make another visit."

Beckett was looking around at the instruments then and she said, "You came across the country?"

"We did, it took some time but it was nice when she wasn't nervous," Skye answered. "Speaking of trips are you thinking on Japan at all?" she asked after talking with the next control they were transferred to.

"A little, I just wonder how things will be with Mari there," Beckett said with a smile.

"Have they been talking about the trip?" Skye asked.

"They have," Beckett replied. "And they're already counting down for it."

"So they're not kidding around," Skye said slightly laughingly. "Though I should admit that my girls are doing the exact same."

"Are you sure they're all going to enjoy where we're going?" Beckett asked.

"Now you want to doubt the places we all chose?" Skye asked simply.

"I'm thinking about Eliza," Beckett admitted.

"How was she going around Europe?" Skye asked.

"Good," Beckett said after a moment's pause.

"Then she'll enjoy it," Skye said. "And the parks we'll be going to she'll enjoy."

"Especially Disney," Beckett said.

"Especially Disney," Skye echoed with a smile. "What about you? What're you hoping to see?"

"Mt. Fuji," Beckett said immediately.

"We will," Skye said reassuringly. "I want the girls to see that and I'm assuming that you two want to show your daughters and Mari?"

"Of course," Beckett said. "There's a park we're going to there though…"

"We'll still see it," Skye replied. "Plus your husband."

"That's it?" Beckett said in amusement when she didn't continue.

"I don't know, there doesn't really need to be a reason," Skye said simply. "He was adamant. Any reason why?"

"He didn't mention it to you?" Beckett asked. When Skye shook her head she said, "He had heard of the park but never got the chance to go."

"Ah, that would explain it," Skye said with a slight incline of her head.

"You sound like you've been," Beckett said in amusement. When she saw the sides of her friend's mouth quirk up slightly she said, "You didn't tell him?"

"You're right, it's fun to do that but he might figure out we've gone," Skye replied. She looked at her equipment and said, "It's been twenty minutes."

"She never really rides with you here?" Beckett asked laughingly as her friend sounded surprised.

"She has, she's a little tired today so she's getting some rest," Skye replied. She looked abashed and then said, "We did… we've been busy every night until last so we took advantage of our free time last night."

"I understand," Beckett said. "I don't want to really visualize it but I understand where you're coming from."

"Great we're agreed," Skye said before they looked at each other and lightly started to laugh. She flew then in silence as she watched Beckett looking around and neither of them spoke until they were just crossing the middle of Maryland.

"Do you think we're being ridiculous," Beckett finally said.

"What, missing each other as much as you are?" Skye asked as she glanced at her. At her friend's nod she smiled and said, "No, not at all. You and Rick have the same as what Mary and I have. That kind of intense connection and I'm not talking about the sexual kind." She had to speak to control again and once she had done so she told her friend, "Without it, it feels like something's missing and it's quite unpleasant."

"Very," Beckett said.

"And the amount of time doesn't matter in the end," Skye told her. "A day, two days… weeks or months it's going to continue being objectionable. So you're not suddenly less independent or weaker for feeling the way you do."

"Lily said something like that to me; Rebecca too," Beckett said in amusement.

"She's smart and she and Brad have gone through something like that haven't they?" Skye asked her.

"They did and so have Rebecca and David," Beckett said quickly before she turned to look back at Mary who was suddenly moving around.

"Morning _grá_ ," Skye said as she took a quick glance herself.

"Where are we?" Mary asked.

"Very close to DC," Skye replied. "We'll be there in five minutes."

"So we're practically there," Mary said, looking past the two out the windshield. "Buckle up?" she asked her wife.

"Please," Skye replied before her wife pressed a kiss to the side of her head and then sat back. She got them to Dulles and once they had clearance she was landing smoothly on one of the runways before heading down to a hangar. "Sorry about the parking but I can't really head to one of the gates," she said jokingly.

"I'd love to see you try," Mary told her wryly.

"I know, it would be interesting to see if you could get one of those jetways to us," Beckett said with a smile.

"I'd like to see that too," Skye said seriously before she smiled at the two women. She parked outside a hangar and said, "Your husband should be inside," to Beckett.

"Go," Mary urged her.

Beckett was a little hesitant to just run out and leave them on their own but Skye was looking at the instruments and Mary was on her phone. So she unlocked and opened the door before stepping out onto the tarmac. As she paused to put on her coat; impatiently; she stopped when she saw Castle coming out of the door next to the larger entrance to the hangar. Pulling the left side of her coat up on her the rest of the way she began to walk as rapidly as she could to him. Finally, when she was about three steps away running she gave up the pretext of trying to appear adult and nearly threw her arms around her husband's neck as he was doing the same with her, holding her by the small of her back. " _Rick_ …" she whispered with a smile as she felt the comforting assurance of his embrace rush through her.

"Love," Castle replied, relieved to have her back in his arms again as the sensation was familiar and welcome. "I'm so happy to see you," he told her, running his right hand over the back of her hair. He pressed his lips to her temple and when she pulled back to look at him he didn't care that they weren't alone before he kissed her gently. The sensation was a shock to him and it took a monumental effort on his part not to lose control as they both deepened it naturally before they were parting again. "Enjoy your flight?" he asked.

Beckett couldn't help smile at his changing the subject but went along with it saying, "Yes but I'm happier to be off it. So you knew they were coming?"

"I did," Castle said, reluctantly forcing himself to let go of her. He kept hold of her hand though and said, "Surprised you didn't I?"

"You did," Beckett replied with another smile. She then heard footsteps behind them and turned around to see a man near her age with slightly graying ruddy hair approaching them. At first she had no idea who he was but then something seemed to click in her mind and said in complete shock, "Patrick?"

"Hey Kate," the man said with a smile. He then walked over to her, hugging her tightly as Beckett came over to him and with a laugh said, "Your husband said you'd recognize me."

"I almost didn't," Beckett told her Academy friend. When they let go of each other she looked at him and then realized something, "You're the detective."

"For the case I asked you two to help with?" Darnley asked. When Beckett nodded he answered saying, "Yeah, I knew he was in town and this case is… interesting." He then looked behind her and said, "Hey Skye, Mary."

"You know them?" Beckett asked, startled again.

"I do," Darnley replied before he glanced back to the hangar. "He's here," he told Skye. He then turned to Beckett and told her, "This is the IIC for the other half of Skye's case; I'm sure she told you about it."

"She did," Beckett said with a nod.

"His name is Trevor Nkosi," Darnley told her. "And he's my husband."

Turning to her friend Beckett smiled and said, "You're married."

"For six years," Darnley replied. "And since I'm sure you'll wonder we have a daughter, her name is Madalitso and she's fourteen months. We adopted her from South Africa."

"Where I am from," Nkosi said as he shook Beckett's hand, his accent present but not thick.

"It's great to meet you and congratulations, for you both," Beckett told the men. "I hope I'll get to meet her."

"You will, I want you meet Maddy," Darnley replied. "For now I think we need to head into our respective investigations, if you're ready."

"I am," Beckett replied. "Will we see you again?" she directed to Skye and Mary.

"Yeah we invited them and have invited you and Rick to our house for dinner tonight," Darnley replied. He turned to his husband and said, "I'll call to let you know how things go."

Nodding Nkosi then walked with Skye and Mary back to the hangar after they'd called goodbye to everyone else.

Watching them go Beckett then turned to her friend, "Any reason you had to surprise me?" Before he could answer she then turned to Castle and said, "Or was this you?"

"May have been me," Castle replied with a slight grin. "So we need to stop at the hotel to get your things to our room and after Patrick is taking us to his house to get caught up on the case."

"Your daughter?" Beckett asked as she and Castle followed her friend to the plane where her luggage was.

"She's with her grandmother," Darnley replied. "Trev's parents live down the street from us."

"Your parents…" Beckett said softly as he got her carryon.

"They threw me out of the family when I came out to them," Darnley said, not looking at her.

"Oh Patrick, I'm so sorry," Beckett breathed, placing her hand on his arm.

"Trev's parents have taken me into their family," Darnley replied, smiling at her briefly as she squeezed his arm. "So I still have one. I'll meet you over at my car."

"He was the one that came up to you at the Mall?" Beckett asked her husband once her friend was far enough away for her to talk.

"He did, he has a partner," Castle replied as they walked a little more slowly towards Darnley's car. "But she was back at their station. I went to his house from there."

"You've met his daughter?" Beckett said.

"She's very sweet," Castle told her. "They let me hold her too. But I had no idea about his parents."

"Not just his parents," Beckett said with a sigh. She then became a little grim and said, "They were very strictly religious and he was always afraid of them finding out about him. I told him I'd go meet his parents as his girlfriend one time when they were in the city to see him but he declined. I think the lie he was presenting to the others in the Academy was more than enough."

"Probably better you didn't meet them," Castle told her.

"Hmm, most likely," Beckett said. "But he's happy now, I can tell."

"He is," Castle said with a nod.

Beckett wanted to ask him something else but couldn't as they reached her friend at his car and she asked, "It won't take too long to get to the hotel will it?"

"No, we'll be alright," Darnley replied as he and Castle got her luggage into the trunk before he drove.

After Castle had gone in to take her suitcases inside the hotel lobby and they were driving again Beckett asked her friend, "Where do you live?"

"It's a ward called Langdon in the north east section of the city," Darnley said. "I'd take you into the station straight away but the commissioner is afraid of offending the Chief any more than he did."

"By asking us to consult," Castle told his wife. "But she, the Chief, spoke with Brad so we're all set."

"But don't expect to be that often at the station," Darnley warned them both as they got into the car.

"I think it's enough we got to help at all," Beckett replied. "So your husband's with the NTSB."

"Yep," Darnley replied with a smiled. "I guess I should just tell you the story now since it's going to take about twenty minutes to get to the house. He came with his parents when he was four years old and lived next door to an investigator and he's always been fascinated by planes."

"What about your story?" Beckett asked.

A wider smile appeared on his face then and Darnley said, "I was assigned to a case where the killer ran from me when I tried to apprehend him. It was near NTSB Headquarters and I got some assistance from someone outside who tripped the guy."

"And that was Trevor," Beckett said, saying the man's name slightly hesitatingly.

"That was him," Darnley replied. "After thanking him we parted but I turned back around and asked him how he liked working for the NTSB. He asked how I enjoyed working with Metro and from that point we stayed in contact and here's where we are."

"Did he tell you anything about us?" Beckett asked with a slight smile.

"I was able to get some of it from _Cosmo_ not too long ago," Patrick said. "I thought you'd stopped modeling." When she gave him a look he laughed slightly and then said, "But I would love to hear the story of you two."

Beckett quickly began as she didn't mind telling her friend about her and Castle, not going into too much detail as she related how they'd met and married. She hesitated for a moment before she looked back at her husband and when he nodded to her she then told him about Tyson.

When she'd finished Darnley was quiet for a moment before he said, "I had wondered why you were in the Hamptons and writing but that makes sense. I wouldn't let anyone threaten Maddy like that. I wouldn't risk sticking around."

Nodding Beckett said, "Did you hear about Julia at all?"

"I did, I was surprised to hear you'd adopted," Darnley replied. "But Rick showed me pictures of you with your daughters and you love her."  
"I love both our girls," Beckett said seriously. She then asked Castle, "Did you tell him about our vacation."

"I did," he replied. "And let him and Trevor know not to tell Julia about what happened before Queens."

Beckett expected her friend to say something to that but he was pulling into the driveway of a house that was a pastel green and she said, "Nice."

"Thanks, how's yours?" Darnley asked after he'd parked.

"The same," Beckett said with a smile. She got out and then heard someone calling to him before she turned to see a tall African woman pushing a stroller down the sidewalk. "Your mother in law?"

"Yeah," Darnley replied, smiling over at the woman. "Bethany, is she alright?"

"She is, I was just taking her out for a walk," she answered. "Is this your wife?" she then directed to Castle.

"It is," he said quickly. "Bethany this is Kate Beckett. And Kate, this is Bethany Nkosi."

"Wonderful to meet you Patrick has told us of your time at the Academy in New York," Bethany told Beckett as she shook her hand with both of her own. "I do not know if Trevor told you but he thanks you for your friendship."

"It wasn't a problem," Beckett said, smiling at the woman as she could see why Patrick was pleased with his family by marriage. "And thank you as well."

Bethany nodded and then said, "You haven't met Maddy yet have you?"

"Not yet," Beckett said, letting herself be led over to the stroller where Darnley was taking his daughter out. "So this is your daughter."

"My little sunshine," Darnley replied unabashedly, kissing the baby's cheek lovingly. "Here's Kate," he then said as Beckett came over to him. "She came to see you today."

"Dada," the baby said, smiling at him before she looked at Beckett and became serious.

"Hello Maddy," Beckett said, reaching out and taking her hand. She smiled when the baby then held her arms out to her and she took Maddy from Darnley. "She is beautiful," she told her friend, smiling at Castle when he stepped closer to her then.

"She is," Darnley replied. He ran his hand over the back over of his daughter's head and then said, "You're going to take her around the block?" to his mother in law.

"I will," Bethany said as she took her granddaughter. "We'll see you tonight?"

"I'll be home for dinner and so will Trevor," Darnley assured her. He said goodbye to his mother in law and watched her leave them before he said to Castle and Beckett, "I have everything inside in my office."

Following him Beckett looked around the entry before they went into a small room off of it and she saw a picture of Darnley, Nkosi and their daughter on the wall. She studied it for a moment before turning to her friend who was opening a cabinet door that was against the opposite wall. She wasn't surprised to see a cork board there and said, "You still use murder boards?"

"Never updated," Darnley replied.

"And they probably won't," Castle commented. "I asked him the same though he didn't show me this."

"I wanted to wait for the two of you to be here together before I started talking about the particulars on the case," Darnley said. "Alright, tell me what you think when you see this Kate."

Looking at the picture that he set on the board Beckett frowned slightly and stepped up to it at the same time as her husband. "This is how you found your vic?" she asked.

"The first, yes," Darnley replied with a brief nod.

Glancing back and forth between the two Castle said, "You've seen this before?"

"We have," Beckett replied as she shared a look with her friend. "You know what this is already."

"I do, it's finding the killer that's difficult," Darnley told her. "And my partner, Jodie Sumner, knows too."

"She's seen these?" Beckett asked.

"No, I told her," Darnley said simply.

"What exactly are you talking about?" Castle said, trying not to feel impatient with the two.

"Have you ever heard of Frances Glessner Lee?" Beckett asked her husband. When he looked thoughtful for a moment but then shook his head she wasn't surprised and said, "She was an heiress in Chicago around the Gilded Age who was very skilled in miniatures; dioramas. She was interested in crime, read a lot of crime novels, and was told by a friend that a lot of evidence was lost via crime scenes as police weren't trained to read what it said."

"So she started making dioramas, they were called The Nutshell Studies," Darnley took over. "And they trained police to look at what the scene was telling them, not just the evidence but what was out of place or was obvious. We saw some of those dioramas when we were in the Academy; a special exhibit at the police museum in New York."

"Our instructor in a forensics class signed us all up for it," Beckett said. "We were one of the first to go since he told us as we met him there. We saw the six that were there and we had to write our suppositions on what the evidence told us."

"Do you have pictures of the diorama this is supposed to be?" Castle asked, pointing to the picture of the vic upside down in a bath tub.

"It's called the Dark Bathroom," Darnley replied as he then put another photograph next to the crime scene photo.

Studying the picture of a doll in nearly the same position as the vic Castle saw that what was supposed to be water was on the doll's face and he then let himself take in the rest of the diorama. "Accidental death," he told the two.

"That's what we got too and the evidence we were given said the friends of the woman put her under the tub but she may have struggled and ended up in this position while she drowned," Beckett said with a nod. "And in case you're wondering, this one wasn't at the museum."

"Then it doesn't have to do with you," Castle said, looking at Darnley.

"No," the detective replied. "But we ended up looking up the rest of the dioramas; I enjoyed this one just because it could have gone either way. Ms. Lee was good with that in this one."

"Yours?" Castle asked his wife.

"The Barn, the same reason he likes the Dark Bathroom scene," Beckett said, not surprised when Darnley handed over a picture of the diorama. "How many murders do you have?"

"Just two," he replied. "But you never asked me."

"Cause of death is drowning," Castle and Beckett said at the exact same time.

Looking at the two in surprise Darnley then said, "Yeah, I guess that wasn't too hard to figure out. But there was little in the way of evidence, only some fibers on her shoe buckle that we found."

"What's her name?" Beckett asked him.

"Roe Linny," Darnley replied. "An accountant, no enemies, a few friends but nothing that points to a motive to murder her."

"I think now's a good time to let us know about the second murder," Beckett told him.

With a nod, though he looked a little hesitant, Darnley put up the picture of the second vic and wasn't surprised when Castle swore.

Sighing Beckett said, "The Parsonage?" When her friend nodded she told her husband, "This one was based on an actual murder. We didn't see this one either and couldn't find out the solution to the case; they keep it secret for the seminar they hold to train police. But I believe the vic in real life was assaulted if not raped."

"Yeah, we never got anything on that," Darnley said with a nod. "But this woman was raped, her name is Bella Roberts. And she was essentially an invalid."

"But it hasn't been that hot, why is she that decomposed," Castle said.

"They heated the living room of her home," Darnley replied. "She was killed two nights ago."

"What about cause of death with her?" Castle asked.

"She was stabbed," Darnley said shortly.

"That's what happened to the actual victim," Beckett said. She then looked thoughtful and said, "Can we go to the crime scenes?"

"That's about all I can tell you here anyway," Darnley said. "Come on," and with that he closed the cabinet before leading the way out to his car to drive them to the first crime scene.

When they'd reached the house nearly on the other side of the city Beckett and Castle remained at the car as Darnley went up to the house.

"Okay?" Castle asked his wife.

"I'm startled but I'll be fine," Beckett said. She sighed and then said, "I have to wonder about these dioramas."

"Where are they now?" Castle asked.

"The Maryland Medical Examiner's Office," Beckett replied after thinking for a moment. "I remember the sign at the exhibit that mentioned there weren't any solutions for the scenes." She looked up as her friend came back to them and said, "Have you ever talked to anyone about them? And not related to your case."

"I never thought about them again after I left the city to move back here," Darnley replied, shaking his head. "We can go in but I can't let you into the bathroom that far." When the two looked at him he explained, "They're going to take the tub out for further analysis as there are some scratches in it. They'll be here… this afternoon for that so I don't want to get anything in that tub."

"Fair enough, at least you're letting us into the house," Castle said as he then led them up the walkway to the domicile.

"I'm not worried about Kate," Darnley replied, glancing back at him.

"You're sure you haven't seen him since the Academy?" Castle asked his wife jokingly.

"I'm sure," Beckett replied. "By the way, you never mentioned any kind of connections between your first two vics besides the dioramas."

"If there is one we haven't found it yet," Darnley said, not surprised when she nodded. "The other vic lives in a house about ten minutes away. So the only thing we've got is that they both live in a house and are close."

"Which might be the reason they're chosen," Castle said. "It would be easier for them to operate in a home."

"Which means the victims allowed the killers into the house," Beckett said, looking around as they were inside by then.

"They were both killed around midnight," Darnley said as he walked over to the stairs. Going up he told them, "And the canvasses we did in both areas revealed nothing."

"Everyone was asleep?" Castle asked.

"Or not paying attention," Darnley replied with a quick nod. He went into the master bedroom and nodded to the bathroom saying, "Everything is basically as it was, a few things got taken by CSU but not much."

"Were there any signs of a struggle?" Beckett asked him as she and Castle went to the doorway.

"Nope, she was struck over the head from behind; a fireplace poker here in the house," Darnley replied.

"That's strange," Castle said as Beckett looked at him. "This had to be planned and yet he uses something in the house to knock out the vic."

"What about the second vic?" Beckett said to Darnley as she looked inside the bathroom.

"It was a meat tenderizer," he said. When she looked at him in confusion Darnley explained, "She had washed it earlier that day so it was out on the counter drying. But he hit her from behind of course and a little harder, he cracked her skull."

"It's not just that," Beckett said.

"Wasn't there a package of meat in the original diorama?" Castle asked.

"There was," Darnley said after sucking in a breath of air.

"That was one of the pieces of evidence that cleared the last person the police knew had seen her alive," Beckett said. "In the real life case. How was that room set up?"

"I have pictures in the car to show you," Darnley said. "But there was one thing I didn't tell you; I wanted to wait for you to see both crime scenes at least before then."

Taking the file that he'd been holding under his arm that whole time Beckett saw there was a photograph inside, of a diorama that resembled the master bathroom almost perfectly. "He knew her," she said at the same time as Castle who'd been looking over her shoulder at it.

"Likely he was sleeping with her," Castle added, looking at Darnley. "So he knew the room."

"That's what Sumner and I think," he replied with a slight nod.

"Could the ME tell if she'd been having sex?" Beckett asked with a nod to the bed.

"Recently," Darnley said. "So you're right, there was a relationship between her and the killer."

"And no names came up?" Beckett said.

"No one knew either vic was with anyone," Darnley said. "Casual relationship?"

"I'm not sure," Beckett replied as he'd been looking at her. "Did you ask the people that knew them?"

"The second vic might have but the friends and family of the first said no," Darnley replied. "Very adamantly."

"Nothing else in the house?" Castle asked, walking over to the windows.

"No and it was searched," Darnley said. "From this floor to the basement."

"Where was the diorama found?" Beckett asked then, looking back into the bathroom.

"Out here on the bed," Darnley said. "I took it to mean they wanted the eye to go first to their interpretation of what was in there."

"And your partner?" Castle asked, turning at that.

"She scoffed because I didn't follow it up with the idea that they wanted to be considered an artist," Darnley said as he then motioned to them to leave. "I honestly have no clue what the motive for this is."

"You have a point," Beckett commented while they were going down the stairs. "It could have been a crime of passion if she'd been sexually assaulted as well as your second vic but since she wasn't…"

"The planning…" Castle began to say. He trailed off and looked thoughtful before he continued, "I think the motive does have to do with the planning but what exactly I can't really tell you with so little to go on."

"Alright, I'll take you to the second crime scene and then we're going to the station," Darnley replied. "I can't keep you guys out; you won't be able to help unless you're able to see our murder board where things are more in order than I've told you about."

They were just stepping outside onto the porch when the detective's phone rang in his pocket and he breathed out a sigh of relief at the sound.

"Sorry," Darnley told Castle and Beckett as he took it out of pocket. "Sumner was supposed to call me back when she'd spoken to the commissioner…"

"It's not her?" Beckett asked, hearing the confusion in his voice as he trailed off.

"No, it's another detective," he replied before he answered. "Darnley."

Castle was looking out at the neighborhood when he heard the detective saying, "What?" in shock. Turning he wasn't surprised when the man didn't inform him or Beckett about what he was hearing and he looked over at his wife before her friend was speaking again.

"I'll be there as soon as I can," Darnley replied. Hanging up he said, "There's been an attack; a diorama was found inside a house that's for rent but has no tenants right now."

"So your vic survived," Beckett replied.

"I got the address, so let's go," Darnley said, going over to the walkway. "It's not that far, three minute drive if there's no traffic," he told them as they got into his car. "So we'll be there soon."

Watching the houses they passed on that drive Beckett knew when they'd arrived as a number of squad cars were pulling up in the opposite direction behind an ambulance nearly in the middle of the street facing them. "Your partner's car?" she asked.

"No, another pair of detectives," Darnley said as he parked behind that car. When they got out he then said, "I better call her, she needs to be here."

While he was calling Castle and Beckett followed them to the house where they were met by an officer and they hung back as Darnley got off his phone, looking annoyed.

"What've you got?" he asked.

"A neighbor across the street reported that they heard the sound of screams coming from this house," the officer replied. "My partner's talking to her at the moment. When she came over she put her face up to the window there and saw someone covered run from the living room here," he told them as he stepped aside from the doorway. "To the back but she saw the victim so was more focused on seeing to them than chasing after the attacker."

"Make sure she's asked if she can ID at least their race and height," Darnley said. "Is the vic conscious?"

"Yeah she's in the back-" the officer started to say.

"Thanks Hoffman," Darnley said, cutting him off as he turned and then left quickly.

"What would have been this diorama?" Castle asked. "You never checked it?" he said quickly when the detective slowed down.

"The living room," Beckett quickly supplied. "The stairs were close to what was in that diorama."

With a nod, Darnley walked around the ambulance ahead of them until he could see inside and he said, stunned, "Jodie?"

* * *

Watching her friend on his phone at the windows that signaled the end of the hall in the hospital where they were waiting Beckett turned to Castle and said, "Any theories at this point?"

"I had considered the fact they were going after the police," he replied as she leaned against the wall next to him. "I want to ask him about the first vic's house."

"It's their jurisdiction," Beckett said quickly. "You let me know where the station was in relation to it."

"But would it really have mattered if other detectives had the case," Castle said, sounding doubtful. "They might have been able to figure out who they were. Unless they know Darnley and Sumner that well."

"We'll have to ask him," Beckett replied as she watched her friend walking back down to them. "Anything?" she asked as he'd been talking to another detective from his station.

"I was just talking to an officer who transferred a call to Sumner," Darnley replied with a frown on his face. "She let me know it was male and they said they had information pertaining to the case."

"So we need to wait until she can talk to us," Castle said. "Well," he then continued as Darnley nodded his head. "We can ask you something for the time being, is there anyone that would target you, Sumner or the other detectives?"

Darnley looked thoughtful for a moment before he then said, "Not off the top of my head."

"No cases where the killer was particularly violent or would target you?" Beckett asked.

Darnley sighed and said, "There's only one case, one that Sumner and I investigated. His name was Wally Kline and he murdered three family members while he was supposedly at church."

"Where is he now?" Castle said, sharing a look with his wife at the fact he spoke so slowly.

"Dead," Darnley told them firmly. "He committed suicide the day after he was found guilty of first degree murder."

"Any family that might have supported him… for some reason?" Castle then said.

"I'll call the station, ask them to get everything from the case to my desk so when we head back we're able to look into that," Darnley replied. "Excuse me."

As he was leaving Beckett nearly jumped when she felt her phone shake in her pocket and she hurriedly pulled it out. When she saw there was a text she opened it, smiling at the picture that was attached to it. "They're having lunch," she told her husband, tilting the screen to him so he could see.

"Mother's gotten good at pictures," Castle said with a smile as he saw their daughters with their lips at the straws of their milkshakes. "And she's spoiling them already."

"She's good at that too," Beckett said, smiling as well. "But it makes sense they'd go to the _Studebaker_ ," she then commented. "I bet you anything we would have gone today if I was there."

"Most likely," Castle replied. "Are you going to answer back?"

"Yeah, I need to think about how I want to word this," Beckett said as his mother's text had asked where they were at the moment, though she knew that the girls were asking. "Busy with my friend Patrick Darnley," she said as she typed. "We'll be going to lunch hopefully soon. We're happy to be back together but miss you."

"Nice," Castle told her. "I'm sure they'll love hearing that."

"Of course," Beckett said with a smile before she sighed. "This one's going to be difficult."

"I had a feeling yesterday when he was telling me the basics about the case," Castle said. "Maybe because I didn't have much info. Or maybe it's my skills of deduction."

"Rick, you contradicted yourself right there," Beckett said, rolling her eyes though she was smiling at the same time.

Shrugging Castle looked over at Darnley and said, "You didn't tell me he was good looking."

"Did you miss the fact that he's married to a man?" Beckett said with a slight smirk.

"No but that doesn't mean you couldn't have been… okay, maybe I'm wrong," Castle said. "But he's better than Sorenson _and_ Demming."

Beckett gave him a look and said, "That's why we were friends. And just friends," she ended with firmly.

"Okay, okay," Castle replied. "I may be a little jealous but mainly because he got to know you right at the beginning of your career."

"Or is it because he knew me before you," Beckett said with a brief smile.

"Maybe because of that," Castle said. "But he is a nice guy."

"He is," Beckett replied. "Speaking of him, I wonder why he's still on the phone."

"Something came up with the case information," Castle guessed as he followed her gaze over to the detective. "Is there anything else you can tell me about those dioramas?" he said as he turned to face her.

"Well," Beckett said as she straightened up. She started to pace back and forth in front of him as she thought that over and then said, "Since it's unlikely it has anything to do with the exhibit we saw I think we need to look at the entire set that she made."

"Okay," Castle said. "Is there a list anywhere?"

"No but you can see pictures of them on the internet," Beckett replied. "The official site for them has four…"

"The two are part of that list?" Castle asked. When his wife nodded he then said, "Maybe they're more popular…"

"I don't know," Beckett said slightly doubtfully. "They're not well known, even Brad and the boys don't know about them."

"Are you sure?" Castle asked.

"We've never talked about them," Beckett replied, shaking her head.

"Okay, then that might be easier to narrow down who it could be," Castle told her. "First off-"

"He has people looking into that," Beckett interrupted him. "Remember we talked about this on the drive over."

"It's more that he talked about it," Castle said, nodding over to Darnley. "And just gave us a short list of what they're checking."

"And that will be enough for now because you and I won't be allowed to look," Beckett reminded him. She saw that Darnley was walking over to them and she said, "What happened?"

"Someone took a look at Sumner's desk," the detective told them. "She wrote down the word carpenter on where she usually would write notes."

"Glessner used a carpenter," Beckett said, straightening up. "But would he do that? It's risky."

"Maybe not," Castle said at that information. "What wood was there in the dioramas?"

"The frames," Darnley said. "Everything else was made of other materials."

"Then if it was just the base of the diorama it wouldn't be as risky," Castle told them. "And if he wanted to make it look like the Glessner dioramas then he'd want to be as professional as possible; like she was."

"Detective Darnley?" a doctor said, coming over to them.

"Yes?" he said immediately, knowing that it was his partner's doctor.

"Ms. Sumner is going to be discharged," the doctor replied. "She told me to relate to you her diagnosis and she was struck on the back of the head but was lucky not to sustain a concussion. She says she was struck a few times in the face but merely sustained some contusions that aren't too serious. So she'll be alright."

"Great, thank you so much for treating her," Darnley said. He heard his name being called and turned back around towards the nurse's station where his partner was being wheeled out towards him. "Jodie," he called as he walked rapidly over to her.

"Hey Pat," the woman replied with a small smile as she took a pen offered to her. "We've got a hell of a case."

"You do," Castle said.

"Mr. Castle," Sumner replied, nodding to him. When she'd finished signing the papers she was given she then turned her attention to the others and said, "Kate Beckett?"

"It's nice to get the chance to meet you," she said with a nod before they shook hands. "I'm glad you weren't too seriously injured."

"Me too," Sumner said. "Mind if you interrogate me outside?" she then asked her partner.

"I'm not interrogating you Jodie," Darnley replied, shaking his head. "But we need to talk." He walked next to the wheelchair the nurse pushed for his friend and headed with Castle and Beckett out to the curb where his partner was allowed to get up. "There's a table near my car," he told her.

"Good," Sumner said shortly as he took her arm. When they were sitting at the table she said, "I got a call from a man calling himself Frankie Connors that said he was the carpenter for the killer. That got my attention since I had read up on the dioramas that you mentioned and it said she did have one to assist her."

"Short conversation?" Darnley asked. At her nod he then said, "And he asked you to go there?"

"I checked out the house and it said it was occupied," Sumner replied.

"Then the last tenants left before that could be updated," Darnley said with a frown.

"Why didn't you take back up?" Beckett asked, hoping the woman knew about her past.

"I did, but they…" Sumner said before she paused and then looked at her partner.

"They got lost on the way to you as their GPS cut out at a three way street," Darnley said. "I asked," he told Castle and Beckett as well. "When I was calling dispatch and by the time they found you the ambulance was just arriving. No one else was available at the station?"

"No," Sumner replied. "And since I couldn't really wait to talk to the guy I went up to the door but couldn't see inside as the sun was glaring off those front windows and the door is solid. So I knocked and of course, no answer. I drew my weapon and headed in and as I was walking from the entry into the living room I was hit from behind and I fell. Never went unconcious so I was very well aware of how he was punching me before I heard a pounding at the door."

"That scared him off?" Castle asked. When Sumner nodded he said, "He never said a word? Face covered?"

"Of course," the woman said with a sigh. "But he was about… five ten and he was Caucasian. That's all I can tell you."

"Build?" Beckett asked.

"Husky… slightly," Sumner said thoughtfully.

"Okay," Darnley said. "You said you were able to check into Frankie Connors?" When his partner nodded he stood and said, "Let's find him and bring him in. See what he has to say about his morning."


	9. Will You Read My Book

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: Great to get the feedback I did for the last chapter so I'll go to my thank yous right away! vetgirlmx (It was really nice to see that you thought it was a very, very fun chapter, that's definitely a nice descriptive word to hear! And I'm happy to read that I could surprise you with Skye and Mary, the story seemed to scream for them to appear, lol. And I'm not surprised you like the idea of seeing them more in the story. Yeah, it wasn't exactly the best place for them to really greet each other but you're right, at least they're together now so they don't need to be miserable. I had been wondering what you'd think of Darnley in this story, since way back when I first introduced him you'd mentioned interest so was great to see you thought that was interesting. And I'm glad you want to see more of him, don't worry you will, and you will get stories about when they knew each other during their time at the Academy. Really happy you think the case is weird and cool already, what I was aiming for, and not surprised you mentioned the other detective being attacked already, lol, I had expected that. It'll be interesting to see if your theory works out but yeah, wait to see what I do with this one, lol. But great you're intrigued and that you can't wait to find out more about the case which you can do now!), TORONTOSUN (I had to laugh a bit at you saying that Beckett was traveling in style with Skye and Mary but you do make a point with that, she was. And I had to have Castle meet her as soon as she was off the plane, couldn't see him not doing that since they were so unhappy being apart but glad you liked that!) and Guest (Happy to see that you thought the first half of the chapter was cute and that you liked the moments with Beckett and Julia; that you thought they were touching. And I do write moments with the girls not really behaving that well here and there but I can't quite write that much as I write was comes to mind and the times when I write; most of the time; I don't feel it works. But as I said there are moments just not that often of course but thanks for your suggestions I'll think on those!). Thanks so much for the reviews, loved reading them all and I appreciate you taking the time to write them and sending them to me!

A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _Paperback Writer_ by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, from The Beatles' album _Past Masters Volume 2_.

Will You Read My Book

"That's him?" Castle asked as Darnley and Sumner walked into the observation room where he and Beckett were waiting for them.

"That's him," Sumner said. "He fits the figure I saw," she told them. "But he's already denying anything."

"Did the officers who picked him up mention to him why they were bringing him in?" Beckett asked.

"No, they know better than that of course," Darnley said. "Which means I may have brought you in on one of the shortest cases ever."

"Maybe, you need to wait and see," Beckett said, nodding into the room.

"I'd take you, or both of you, in with us," Darnley told her. "But the commissioner's set on that."

"It's alright, we don't constantly talk to suspects back home," Castle let him know. "We'll watch." When they were alone in the room he couldn't help reach over, squeezing his wife's hand briefly before he said, " _What're you thinking_?"

Glancing at him Beckett replied, "We're alone Rick."

"Ah, explaining why you called me that," Castle replied.

"It's more I don't want to put so much distance between us," Beckett said easily. "We've been apart for long enough."

"True, so what do you think Kate? About him?" Castle then said.

Smiling for a moment Beckett looked at the suspect who was still alone in the room and sighed saying, "To be honest I'm not sure. It depends on his story."

"But you don't think this wraps everything up do you?" Castle asked.

"Not really," Beckett said, shaking her head slightly. "You?" She wasn't surprised when he shook his head as well and she nodded before saying, "We'll see now," as they saw the door opening in the interrogation room.

"Mr. Frankie Connors," Sumner began.

"Yeah," the man said, looking up in surprise at her face. "Are you okay ma'am?"

"I wonder at you asking her," Darnley said, standing behind his partner and leaning against the single seat at the table which she had taken. "Since of course, you would know she nearly wasn't."

"Nice," Beckett said under her breath. She could sense her husband looking at her and she murmured to him, "It's vague enough that it might throw him off."

"Did you two practice on each other?" Castle said. He wasn't surprised when she lightly pinched his arm and turned his attention back to Connors who was looking back and forth between the two.

"I… what are you talking about?" Connors asked finally.

"I'm wondering where you were at about ten thirty this morning," Sumner replied.

"I was in my workshop," Connors said firmly, looking relieved. "I'm a carpenter and I make custom furniture. I had an order for a crib and a cradle that I need to finish next week; I'm a little behind."

"Is there anyone that can verify that?" Darnley asked.

"Yeah, I have an assistant Jeremy Yamaguchi," Connors said. "He was there and we have cameras in and outside the shop at my house; I've had stuff stolen before but Metro's found it and I'm… grateful."

Sharing a glance with his wife Castle then said, at the same time as her, "It's not him."

"I don't think he's even an accomplice," Beckett added.

Shaking his head Castle couldn't speak then as they could hear Darnley in the room, taking their attention back to him.

"So you're a carpenter," the detective was saying. "And you work from home, is the public allowed into your workshop?"

"No, the only people allowed are those that are picking up orders," Connors said firmly.

"Do you have a website?" Sumner inquired.

"That's where most of my orders come from," Connors replied with a quick nod. "I make what they choose and they pick it up when it's ready."

"You work locally," Sumner then said. At the man's nod she then said, "Did you ever make a base for a diorama? Perhaps two?"

"I… did," Connors said slowly.

"Something wrong?" Darnley asked.

"It was just for one for a diorama… base you said," Connors replied. "And it was very specific, it came through an e-mail address and I shipped it to a PO Box in Alexandria."

"When was that?" Sumner asked after she'd glanced behind her at her partner.

"Um… two… two and a half months ago," Connors answered after thinking about that for a moment.

"Do you keep records of your orders?" Darnley asked.

"Yeah of course," Connors replied. "It's with my site."

"So," Castle said as Darnley and Sumner inside the room began to wrap up the interrogation. "He used it as an example."

"We'd have to see how the second one looked," Beckett said. "But if it has been that long since the order…"

"The killer has had ample time to make more," Castle finished for her.

"I hope not," Beckett said with a slight frown. "There are eighteen remember?"

"Yeah," Castle said before he saw the door to the room they were in opening. "She's checking?" he said in surprise when just Darnley was there.

"She insisted," he told them. "Come on, we're going to check his alibi first before we look into that order."

Walking out to his desk which was across from Sumner's Beckett asked, "Are you able to get to the security footage?"

"We sent two officers to bring in Yamaguchi and to scout out his home to see if there's any way to slip out undetected by the cameras," Sumner replied, motioning them to her. "And the footage is with a company."

"This is it?" Darnley asked as he saw she had something queued up already.

"This is," Sumner replied. She played it and watched with the other three as the two worked on a crib and said, "This is about the time I went into the house."

Waiting until at least ten minutes had passed after his partner had been found by the neighbor Darnley said, "Alright we can let him loose. Do you want to do that or check the order?"

"I'll check the order," Sumner replied. When he had left she said to Castle and Beckett, "You don't seem too surprised."

"It was too obvious," Beckett replied first.

"With this much planning… it's likely your killer is going to make sure it's harder to find him," Castle added.

"You think that would be a motive?" Sumner asked. "Darnley told me about what you asked him, about our past cases."

"Considering what we saw on that case," Beckett began. "It has nothing to do with the Kline murder. But there could be someone with an obsession with either of you, or both or else with the police in general."

"Which would work," Sumner said thoughtfully. "Since of course Glessner made these dioramas to help train the police."

"Which would mean it's likely a taunt," Castle said. When both women looked at him he explained, "I can make these dioramas and they're not helping you but instead showing what I can do with these victims."

"That's a good theory," Darnley said as he walked up to them. "What about the order?"

"I have it here," Sumner said. She and Darnley read it before he went to his desk to call about the PO Box and while Castle and Beckett were reading it she said, "I'll contact tech, they can get started on looking at the e-mail address."

As the woman went on her phone Darnley motioned the two over to him and covered his phone with his hand telling them, "I'm on hold at the moment but I wanted to tell you two to head out and grab lunch."

"Is there any place around here?" Castle asked.

"A bar across the street has some great food," Darnley replied.

"What about you?" Beckett asked him.

"I'll be fine with a sandwich here," Darnley said, nodding towards the break room. "Brought it from home. Go and take a break and we'll let you know what we have when you get back."

"Why do I feel like we were just grounded… in a way," Castle said to his wife when they were in the elevator going down to the ground floor.

"We weren't but the commissioner was watching us from her office," Beckett said. "I bet you anything she made a gesture while we were with Patrick."

"Great," Castle muttered. "It's like Gates all over again."

"Except worse," Beckett had to point out since it was true.

"Yeah," Castle said with a sigh. By then they'd stepped out into the lobby and the second they were outside on the sidewalk he took her hand before they went over to the crosswalk. "I'm sorry it's so cold," he commented as they waited for the light to change.

"I don't think you really had a reason to be sorry," Beckett replied with a slight smile. "You don't control the weather."

"Too bad," Castle said, squeezing her hand before she entwined their fingers as they then began to cross the street.

Inside the bar they were shown a booth that they sat together on one side of and while they were looking over the menu Beckett asked, "So you need to tell me a little more about your visits to the cities now I'm with you."

"You don't want to talk about the case?" Castle asked jokingly. When his wife just looked at him he said, "Well, Atlanta's first and I did go to that art museum. They had a great collection. I walked around some parks and took a number of pictures, tried some peach cobbler and it was alright."

"Don't tell me you didn't enjoy your trips just a little," Beckett said.

With a slight look of uncertainty on his face Castle then admitted, "I did but I'd start feeling slightly guilty."

Beckett squeezed his arm to reassure him but that was all she could do as their waitress was coming back to them. After they'd given their orders she turned to her husband and said, "We can't be together every second; it's alright if we take separate vacations."

"You don't believe that do you?" Castle asked in amusement.

Sighing Beckett said, "No but I don't think you need to feel guilty."

With a nod Castle said, "I tried not to but I couldn't help it. Though in the end I have to say that I did enjoy it."

"Good," Beckett replied. "So next was Savannah, by the way, who planned out your route?"

"No clue," Castle said, shaking his head. "Now here I have a confession."

"You went to the Moon River Brewing Company," Beckett said before he could say that.

"I knew you'd be able to guess," Castle said unabashedly. "And the Sorrel Weed House."

"That doesn't surprise me either," Beckett said, smiling as those two places had been investigated on the show _Ghost Adventures_ that they'd watched together.

As she was looking at him questioningly Castle said, "No I didn't experience anything. Though the Moon River has a really weird vibe and I didn't even go down to the basement."

"Why not?" Beckett asked in surprise.

"Mainly because of that vibe," Castle replied. He wasn't surprised when Beckett didn't say anything but instead glanced away from him. "Scoff if you want but that's what happened."

"Okay," Beckett replied. "And the Sorrel Weed House?"

"Horrible down in the basement too," Castle replied with a slight shake of his head. "Just dreary and it had nothing to do with the fact that it was winter and raining outside at the time."

"Did you do anything else there?" Beckett asked. She wasn't surprised when her husband shook his head and she smiled before saying, "So next was Charleston."

"Yeah you were right, it was interesting," Castle told her quickly. "And before you ask I did go to the Old Charleston Jail. While I was there I was looking at the outside of it and a student from the building arts college that's there… they use it as a laboratory and classroom, came outside. He recognized me and he took me inside to walk around, on the sly of course."

Beckett smiled again and said, "You're a charmer Rick, he could have gotten in trouble for that."

"I told him how big a fan I was of _GA_ and he was too," Castle said. "He told me that he was ecstatic after he was accepted to some classes there. I took pictures which I'll show you but man, it's creepy upstairs."

"Was that all you did?" Beckett asked.

"No, I headed out to Fort Sumter," Castle said. "I wanted to take a look at it. It was very historic."

"Did you imagine yourself there during 1861?" Beckett asked in amusement.

"Slightly," Castle replied. "Just while I was looking back at the city. I took pictures there too of course, since I figured Julia would want to see it as she learned about the fort during history."

"Yeah, not too long ago," Beckett replied with a nod. "I know already what you did in Raleigh and Richmond but what about Baltimore?"

"Fort McHenry," Castle said. "It was either that or follow McCann to Camden Fields and since I'm not that big of a fan of baseball I decided to go with American history."

"You took pictures there too right?" Beckett asked him.

"I did, since I remember talking with Julia about the story of the _Star Spangled Banner_ ," Castle said. "So I got shots of the water too."

"Great," Beckett said. "So you had a nice trip."

"Yeah I did," Castle replied before their food was brought over to them. He ate a little eagerly at first since he'd had an early breakfast and watching his wife he saw she was doing the same too. "What time did you eat?" he asked her.

"Around six," Beckett said. She then smiled and explained what Julia had done for her and said, "She wanted to give me the least amount of stress as she possibly could."  
"That doesn't surprise me," Castle replied. He then said, "Are we sure on where we're going to take them?"

"It's not set in stone, why?" Beckett asked as she looked over to him.

"I'm just thinking about the Air and Space Museum," Castle replied. "Do you really think Eliza will be alright going there?"

Beckett smiled and said, "Did you ask Patrick about it?"

"I did, I just want them to enjoy it here and I've been there but I wanted to get a second opinion," Castle replied.

"And what did he say?" Beckett asked.

"That she'll be fine," Castle said. "They've taken Maddy and she seems to love it."

"It could be that her father works with planes," Beckett said, smiling at the thought of her friend with his daughter.

"Does that surprise you?" Castle asked her.

"Of course, why wouldn't it? Especially since I haven't heard from him in so long," Beckett said. "I wonder how they're doing, him and Skye."

"Who knows," Castle replied, drinking some of his wine.

"Did you ask him about his case?" Beckett asked.

"I did but Patrick told me to leave him be," Castle replied. "His words. I think he and Skye are still investigating."

"But you looked didn't you?" Beckett asked.

"Of course, I think you'd be disappointed in me if I didn't do that," Castle said jokingly before he smiled slightly at her.

"I would be," Beckett replied with a smile. "What did you find out?"

"Well," Castle said, glancing around them and then leaning over slightly to her. "A 767 crashed in Portland, Oregon where Skye was and there was a storm at the time but they don't think it was weather. And it's the same with Trevor's case which was in the west of Virginia though there was no storm, it was a beautiful day."

"Interesting, hopefully they can figure out what's going on," Beckett said.

"Hopefully we'll find something for our case as well," Castle commented.

"Agreed," Beckett said with a slight smile.

"I'm wondering," Castle said after they'd been eating for a bit longer. "Are the dioramas in a museum setting?"

"They are," Beckett said, wondering what he was thinking.

"Would there be a gift shop?" Castle then said.

"There would, what're you thinking?" Beckett asked.

" _That if I were the killer_ ," Castle began, going to Irish then as there were people at the tables on either side of them. " _And I wanted to be as accurate with those… scenes, then I would want a source_."

"A book," Beckett said.

"There were books?" Castle asked.

"At the museum where Patrick and I went they had a few things and one of them was a book," Beckett said as she then took her phone out of her pocket. She texted her friend about her husband's idea before she said to him, "I wonder how many books there are."

"We'll find out," Castle said. "Since he'll look at that as soon as he gets that text, if he hasn't already."

Beckett nodded and then finished her meal while she drank the last of her wine before they both got up and left. Walking across the street to the station they headed to the top floor where they saw that Darnley was alone at the two desks, talking on the phone. "Anything?" she asked when they went over to him.

"That I'm starving and need to eat before I collapse," he replied. "I'll tell you what we found." Once they were inside the break room he grabbed his sandwich and told Castle and Beckett, "Tech was able to get back to us about the e-mail, very quickly. And it was a group of names sold to the public at an illegal site for that and they traced it as far back as a money order."

"Which you can trace," Beckett said in surprise as her friend didn't sound very happy at the fact.

"Usually, yes, but someone bought it in Alexandria and they were bought over the phone," Darnley said. "And he was paid via his PO Box, with cash."

"Let me guess," Castle said. "He also let the killer use the box for the diorama base?"

"No, the person who owns it picked it up and left behind some rosebushes at a specific intersection not far from the post office," Darnley replied. "But very far from any kind of surveillance."

"That's not much of a surprise," Beckett said then. "Since we all thought the killer would take whatever steps they needed to hide."

"What about the dioramas? Did CSU finish up with the materials?" Castle asked.

"Nothing that stands out but they bought them mostly at arts and crafts stores," Darnley replied.

"A chain set of stores?" Beckett guessed.

When Darnley nodded Castle said, "Of course, how many are there in the area?"

"Considering the surrounding area for DC; assuming the killer stayed in this area; a number of them," Darnley replied. "But I have an officer starting to look into them… just in case."

"Using the items?" Beckett asked.

"The bathtub, I figure that's our best bet," Darnley said.

"Good choice," Castle said. "I would add some other stuff after that too."

"I did, because I know just a tub isn't going to work," Darnley said. "More likely there'll be families where someone's putting together a doll house. They'll let me know if they find anything."

"Did you ever get my text?" Beckett asked him.

"I did and I didn't have a chance to look yet," Darnley said apologetically.

"Where's Sumner?" Castle said, looking outside into the bull pen.

"She decided to fill her prescription while she's at lunch," Darnley explained, throwing the wrapper around his sandwich into the trash. "For pain, the bruises were hurting her."

"I've wanted to ask," Castle then said. "Is she related to Senator Charles Sumner?"

"The 1800s senator or the current senator from Massachusetts?" Darnley asked.

"Both," Castle said.

"To the former… a cousin," Darnley answered. "He was beaten on the floor of the Senate for his speech about a southern senator in…"

"1856," Beckett replied. She smiled at the two men when they looked at her in surprise and said, "I know the story since I do remember that from history."

"Yeah, well she's distantly related to him and the current Senator Charles Sumner is her father," Darnley said. "His only child so they're close."

"Does he have a problem with her being a cop?" Beckett asked.

"Not as far as I know," Darnley replied. "And believe me when I said I asked her about that. She's not a fan of politics."

"Interesting she's a detective here instead of up in… Boston or anywhere in the state," Castle said.

"It's because we lived mostly down here when I was a kid," the woman they were speaking about said as she walked in.

"Sorry Jodie, he was asking about your last name," Darnley explained.

"It's alright, if you know the story of my ancestor I'm not surprised it came up," Sumner replied. "Anything interesting in your family history?"

"No," Castle said so firmly that he wasn't surprised when the other three; plus another detective that had come in to use the coffee machine; looked at him in surprise. "At least not my family," he said before he looked over at his wife.

"I have a distant cousin who's Irish and is an earl by marriage in England," Beckett said.

"So you do have family out there," Darnley replied with a nod, getting some coffee.

"I do," Beckett said, since she'd told him about her parents being all she had at the time she'd joined the Academy. "So, should we head back to the case? Except for you?"

"I ate quickly before I left," Sumner said since that had been directed at her. "I'm ready to get back to work."

"You weren't here when I got it," Darnley said as they all walked back out to their desks. "But Kate texted me about a book because the killer may have bought it."

"From the museum where the dioramas are or else any that had them as a special exhibit," Beckett said to clear up any confusion.

"I would look within the past year or two," Castle said. "The time to get everything right was a lot but I don't think it's been lying in the planning stages for more than that."

"There was a trigger obviously," Darnley said, sipping at the coffee that he'd gotten before they'd left the break room. "But the problem is we don't have a set time for it."

"We're not going with the order for the diorama base as being that?" Sumner said hesitantly after she'd taken a pill.

"No with the way the killer planned how to get that base without being filmed he needed more time than that to plan it out," Beckett said, pacing slightly in front of the murder board. "I think you should try the books first. What about the diorama at the house where she was attacked?"

"It was in the kitchen," Darnley replied, not surprised that hadn't come up until then since they'd been so busy.

"They set up the scene after the vics were killed," Castle and Beckett said at the same time.

"Yeah… that's likely the reason," Sumner said, sounding very surprised.

Smiling briefly Darnley looked down at his desktop and said, "You're right, there was also a curtain next to the diorama." He handed a picture to his partner saying, "Since you haven't seen that."

"Mind if I…?" Castle asked as he pointed to the picture. When Sumner shook her head he went to look over her shoulder and said, "Simple. That could go either way."

"What is it?" Beckett asked as she saw the thoughtful look on his face. But before he could answer her she suddenly said, "You're thinking he's mimicking their cases."

"He could be," Castle said. "He's… maybe a disgraced cop or a person who attempted to join the police to eventually work homicide-"

"If he was recently rejected he decided to take it out on homicide here since this is where he signed up," Beckett took up. "And he knew their past cases because they're easy to find out about-"

"He also has an obsession with the dioramas, maybe studied them to help him become a better investigator," Castle said. "He starts building and getting everything ready-"

"But just by using cases that apply to the dioramas, that are similar to them in manner of death," Beckett said. "Even the disgraced cop could work though." Turning to the detectives she wasn't surprised to see them looking back at them in shock and she said, "We do that once in a while."

"I think it's more than that," Darnley said, slightly amused. "You have it down to an art. Okay, I think that's possible and since all we have are the books-"

"I'll check on the cases, I need to walk anyways," Sumner replied.

When they were alone Darnley said, "Get a coffee while I start up with the books."

"We might have to go out for that," Castle said.

"Oh you noticed?" Darnley asked. He saw that Beckett was looking at him in confusion and explained, "When he came over for dinner last night he went on about the coffee, so I knew he wasn't going to like ours. There's coffee on the corner to the north, head there and you'll be back quick."

"What do you want?" Beckett asked. She smiled when her friend told her quickly and she then followed Castle to the elevator where they rode down with some officers after the next floor down. When they were outside again they walked together speedily as the wind had suddenly picked up and they were also in a hurry so they could get back to the case, soon reaching the coffee shop on the corner.

"The commissioner was watching us again," Castle commented after he and Beckett had gotten into line.

"I saw," she replied. "If she keeps doing that, just remember we're only helping with one case." She then saw that he was getting his phone out of his pocket and opened her mouth to speak when they were next to order. She had to get his attention so he would follow her up to the registers and she waited until they were sitting at a table near the window looking out on the street before she told him, "What is it?"

Sliding the phone across the table to her Castle replied, "I was interested in seeing if there were any books about the scenes on Amazon."

Picking it up Beckett saw there were two and she asked, "That's it?"

"That's it," Castle said. "Why, did you expect more?"

"I guess I shouldn't have," Beckett said with a frown. "At least books still in print…"

"Yeah, it's why I really wish the commissioner would have…" Castle started to say. "Did something at her desk, paperwork or a phone call. Something that would have let us do something ourselves."

"I think Patrick is ready to do that," Beckett said. When her husband looked at her she explained, "Help out, since there are only two of them."

"Luckily Sumner doesn't seem to mind us," Castle pointed out.

"I know," Beckett said. "Though she's likely wondering why we're here."

"Besides the scenes you two know about?" Castle told her.

"True but I don't know if that's enough to justify us here," Beckett replied. "I just hope there's something to our theory."

"Did Brad have any cases while I've been gone?" Castle asked.

"No," Beckett said, unable to help smiling. When her husband asked her what was so funny she told him about when she had been at the gym and had seen the chief and Lily. "He was telling the truth," she finished with. "Since there weren't any murders besides the one he told me about."

At that moment his name was called so Castle headed over to pick up their order, handing Beckett her coffee before they left to go back to the station. "Let's hope that was long enough," he told her as they were alone in the elevator the last two flights to the top.

Stepping out with Castle into the bull pen Beckett saw that her friend as standing at one of the windows that was next to his desk. And after sharing a look with her husband she led the way over to him. Waiting until he was off his cell phone she then asked, "Anything?"

"Well, the museum let me know that they sell two books on the dioramas but only one of them has pictures of the scenes in more detail," Darnley replied. "It's called _The Nutshells: Death in Miniature_."

"That was one of the books that I found on Amazon," Castle told him. "There were two books there," he then said as the detective had looked quickly at him. "The other was just called _The Nutshell Studies_."

"That's the other book they sell but that's more of an autobiography of the process that Glessner had," Darnley replied.

"Did they have any record of purchases in the last year or two?" Castle asked.

"They did, about ten copies were sold in the last two years," Brad said. "Six were via credit card and four were through cash."

"Please tell me they're sending the list of six names," Beckett said.

"And the security camera footage of the four purchases in cash," Darnley replied. "It'll take them a while to find the footage but the names we'll get. Excuse me."

Remaining at the window Beckett watched him go to the commissioner's office and said, "I think I have an idea of what we'll be doing next."

"Me too but at least he's bound to say more positive things about us," Castle replied. When his wife glanced at him he smiled and then went with her over to Darnley's desk to wait for him where he placed the detective's coffee on the desk.

"You told me," the detective said once he had walked back out to them. "That when you assist in the Hamptons you help searching for suspects sometimes."

"I did," Castle said as Beckett glanced over at him.

"Would you mind helping me out with that now?" Darnley asked.

"You have permission for us to do that?" Beckett asked.

"I do," Darnley replied. "Since obviously Sumner is having some trouble with the list of murders."

"Or she's getting a number of them," Castle couldn't help pointing out.

"Come on," Darnley replied. "Sorry Rick but Commissioner Le Blanc wants just Kate to be on the computer."

"Nothing I haven't heard before," Castle said. "And she's had more experience than I have."

"But you can sit with her," Darnley said, taking a chair from the empty desk behind his partner's. "Best I could do."

"Get three of the names for us Patrick," Beckett told him firmly.

With a nod Darnley sat down at his desk and then looked at his computer before writing something down on a piece of paper. "Here I'll take the other three, just let me know if there's anything."

Reading the names Beckett said, "Were there any female names?"

"I have them here…" Darnley began to say before he trailed off as he opened a second e-mail from the museum. "Okay there are five more names."

"Wait," Beckett said suddenly. "These purchases are from 2015."

Darnley was about to protest but he then checked the names that he had and he saw that she was right. "They must not have listened to me," he said, about to pick up the phone.

"When was that book published?" Castle said swiftly before the detective could place the call.

"Check," Beckett said to her husband quickly as Darnley hesitated for a moment.

"2014," Castle said, looking at both his wife and Darnley once he'd done that. "They didn't mention it to you?"

"No, but-" the detective started to say before his phone rang. "Darnley," he said. He seemed to jump slightly at the name on the other end and then pressed a button before saying, "Yeah my consultants and I just noticed the dates and the publishing date after that."

"I'm sorry Detective, my partner thought I'd told him all the credit card purchases," the man on the other end said.

"We could still use them," Beckett whispered hurriedly to Darnley.

Staring at her in surprise for a moment the detective then shook himself and said, "Don't worry though, I have no clue when the time frame of the purchase would be, so I'll take what I can get."

"It's about… twenty names at this point," the man said on the other end.

"That's fine, searching doesn't take too long as you know," Darnley replied as Castle and Beckett nodded to his unasked question. He then took the phone off speakerphone as he saw his superior walking over.

"Mr. Castle, Ms. Beckett," the woman said. "Might speak with you for a moment?"

"Sure," Beckett replied, looking at her husband as they stood at nearly the same time. She hit his arm gently with the back of her hand when he hesitated in following her and she strode after the commissioner until they were inside her office.

"So," Commissioner Le Blanc said to them. "You've been assisting with Chief Davis up in the Hamptons for some time now."

"Yes ma'am," Beckett said firmly. "Nearly a year officially and a year before that unofficially."

"I needed to speak with you myself," Le Blanc replied. "Because I've just heard back from the Chief of Police here in the city and she's allowing you to consult. But," she added as she pointed at Beckett. "You will not be allowed a weapon or to go after a suspect. Only crime scenes. Is that understood?"

"I'm sorry Commissioner Le Blanc," Beckett said, slightly irritated. "I've been a cop before, I know how things go."

"I realize that but Chief Winslow was very specific in not letting you two do anything that gets out of hand," the commissioner replied.

"Or to embarrass Metro?" Castle asked.

Glancing at him Le Blanc sighed and said, "Exactly, we've had some issues recently with our patrol being a little heavy handed with suspects and the chief is determined to get the reputation of the force back to what it was."

"We're just here to help with the intricacies of the case," Beckett said. "Not stand in as police."

"Ma'am?" a voice said at the doorway.

"Take them Darnley, that was all I needed to say," Le Blanc told the detective.

"Come on, we have all the names," Darnley told them. When they were outside in the bullpen and at his desk he said, "How badly did that go?"

"It could have been far worse," Castle told them both. "Believe me I know from experience."

"As long as she's letting you continue to assist me," Darnley replied as he watched Beckett sit at the desk.

"She is, these are our names?" she asked him.

"They are," Darnley replied, sitting down then. "Good luck."

"This shouldn't take too long," Beckett replied as she was already typing on the keyboard.

"She's right, it won't," Castle said. "Unless we get some kind of interruption."

Right at that moment someone was calling out to Darnley and he plus Castle and Beckett looked over at Sumner who was being followed by an officer. "Do you have everything?" he asked her as he signaled to his friend to follow him.

"Everything that I could manage to find," Sumner said as she then went to a room that was across a short hall from the break room. "Come on, I need your help with this."

"We have names…" Darnley began. "Hold on," he then said before he left the room.

Watching him speak to an officer Castle turned back around and when he saw the piece of paper that Sumner was looking at asked, "Did you have all those cases on computer?"

"Yeah but I had to filter through them and then check on the detectives and applicants for this station," she replied.

"Anything on the latter?" Darnley asked as he came into the room.

"One, Marty Heersink," Sumner told him. "He was dismissed after tampering with evidence in one of his cases."

"Have you heard of him?" Beckett said as she looked to her friend.

"No he was before my time, yours too Sumner," Darnley replied.

"That's what took me a little longer, I needed to speak to his former partner who's in Robbery now," Sumner replied. "Billy Morris and he said that Heersink is in Ohio at the moment. I checked up on it and he's right, he works security at the Cedar Point amusement park. The head of security."

"And he hasn't left in that time?" Castle asked.

"I spoke with his boss and they confirmed he's been in Ohio the entire time frame of the crime, since they're hiring new security guards for the next season the park will be in operation with his assistance," Sumner said.

"So now we have to look at these cases," Darnley said.

"We do," Sumner said. "I divided them into two different boxes just to not mix them up."

"There's not much here," Beckett said with a slight frown, seeing each stack had about five or six files.

"Which explains why the boxes were smaller," Sumner said simply.

"And did Heersink investigate any of these?" Darnley asked, picking up the first.

"No one of them is ours though," Sumner said. When her partner looked at her in surprise she said, "Callen?"

"Now I remember," Darnley replied with a slight frown. "He drowned his wife in their tub because their baby was stillborn." When Castle and Beckett exchanged a glance before turning to him he said, "He was of the idea that they'd conceived there."

"What about the case in your hands?" Beckett asked after frowning for a moment but also thinking of the girls with that.

"This was… Ray Cruse who raped and stabbed his ex girlfriend about six years ago," Darnley said. "Does someone want to write this stuff down?"

"I'll do that," Castle said quickly before he took a pad of paper that was on the table and the pen that was on top of it. He quickly wrote down the basic information that Darnley had said and then told the detective, "Go ahead."

"It was investigated by Westham and Levine," Darnley continued. "And it was cut and dry, nothing strange there."

"We know the two, they retired three and four years ago," Sumner told Castle and Beckett. "They're solid, veterans here at Metro."

"We'll still look into them but maybe a bit later," Darnley said. "Kate?" he said as she was holding the top file from the other pile.

"This is Allen Johns who drowned his seventeen year old daughter in… what he said was a fit of religious fervor as she told him she was pregnant and going to marry her boyfriend," Beckett said slowly. "It was investigated by Detectives Crowne and Cheong, three years ago."

"I remember that one," Darnley said.

"So do I," Sumner said with a frown. "That was a horrible case; he seemed to think he'd done his daughter and grandchild a service murdering them, even after he was convicted." She then shook her head and looked over at Castle asking, "You have everything?"

"You can keep going," Castle replied quickly.

"This was our case," Sumner then said as she showed the others the file.

Waiting for Castle to finish writing down what had been said about that she then told him, "That was eight years ago."

"Alright, this one for the stabbing is a Kirkpatrick Joyce who stabbed a woman randomly in an alley in our jurisdiction," Darnley told them. "About four years ago. Patton and Sydney looked into it and also it was a standard investigation."

"Meaning no one was falsely accused or arrested," Beckett said to make sure as she looked up from the file that she was holding.

"Yeah," Darnley replied. "What do you have?"

"Kris Hedrick drowns his escort for the evening in the bath of the hotel room that he'd reserved for them," Beckett read. "Kish and Martino investigated this seven years ago, no arrests before to set someone off."

With that Darnley and Beckett began to read the case files they had in their hands and were soon down to the last one which was a rape and stabbing which he quickly went over before tossing the file back in the box it had been in.

"So we have nothing," Darnley said. "Unless it's another station and they couldn't move the first vic's body." He saw the look that Beckett was giving him and then sighed saying, "I know, it's not likely but…"

"We do have those names," Castle pointed out.

"Names?" Sumner said.

"Come on, I'll fill you in," Darnley replied.

Having stood up to hand Sumner the list that he'd written Castle noticed that his wife was remaining in place and he asked, "You okay?"

"I want to text your mother, see how the girls are doing," Beckett replied as she then got her phone out of her hand.

"Good idea," Castle said as he then went over to her. He watched her type out the text before she sent it and he glanced outside saying, "Should we go?"

"If they need us they'll let us know," Beckett said.

Watching her as they were waiting for a response to their text Castle was surprised but didn't comment on that as he could understand why she wanted to talk to their daughters.

"It's Martha," Beckett said when her phone suddenly rang. Since her husband was standing next to her she hadn't needed to say that as he could see the screen of the phone. She answered quickly and together she and Castle walked over to the back of the room near the windows looking outside. "Hello?" she said, putting it on speakerphone.

"Mommy?" a voice replied.

"Julia?" Castle and Beckett said together.

"Hi, what is it?" Julia asked.

"Why did you answer your gram's phone?" Castle asked her.

"Because she went upstairs with Lizzy to get patterns for your dress Mommy," Julia replied. "They're gonna come down in a second. Are you okay?"

"We're fine," Beckett said with a smile. "What about you?"

"I'm good; we went to the dog park after lunch. Gram said we had to run around a little bit so we could work off lunch," Julia answered.

"We walked too," Castle said. He smiled when Beckett looked at him and said, "We went to get coffee for everyone down the block."

"Oh, well that's fun," Julia said. "Here comes Lizzy." She then directed to her little sister, "It's Mommy and Daddy, they wanted to talk to us."

"Hi Mommy! Hi Daddy!" Eliza said exuberantly.

"Hey sweetie," Beckett said with a smile.

"Hi Eliza," Castle then told her. "Your sister was telling us you're getting patterns for your mom's dress?"

Beckett, looking over at the doorway, saw that Darnley was there and she was going to get Castle to stop when Eliza prevented her from doing that though the toddler had no idea that she had.

"Yeah Gram is gonna sew the sleeves now 'cause she knows Mommy's arms already," Eliza told them.

Giggling Julia then said, "She means how long and tight the sleeves need to be."

"I know," Beckett replied with a slight smile. "From my costume last year."

"I think we need to go you two," Castle said. "We just took a quick break but for now it's back to work," Castle said as he glanced at the doorway himself then and saw Darnley there.

"Kay, will we talk after?" Eliza asked.

"Of course, we'll text your gram once we're ready to talk to you," Beckett replied. "Have fun until then okay?"

"We will," Julia and Eliza said together at the same time.

"We love you two, bye," Castle said.

"Bye Daddy, love you," the girls said together.

"Bye girls, I love you too," Beckett told them quickly.

"Bye Mommy, we love you too," the girls said, again at the same time.

After Beckett hung up and the two had turned to him Darnley said, "Costume?"

"Just a second," Castle said as he got his phone out. He pulled up a picture of himself and Beckett and said, "Julia loves _Dancing With the Stars_ , and Derek Hough; he wore this with-"

"Maria," Darnley interrupted. When Beckett looked at him in frank shock he smiled and told them, "Trev loves the show and I started watching too. You look great there, both of you."

"Did you need us?" Beckett asked as Castle was putting away his phone.

"Yeah, an update on the names," Darnley told them as he led them back out into the bullpen. "They just finished the last one and nothing suspicious."

"The security footage?" Castle asked.

"Officer McGee is looking into them right now but since it's just the four from the last year he's not going to have much luck either," Delaney replied. He then sat behind his desk and was about to speak when he paused and looked at his computer screen.

"What is it?" Beckett asked in surprise, watching him.

"It's another e-mail from the museum…" Darnley said, looking across at Sumner. " _We missed these last few names from February of last year but caught them before we finished_ ," he read from the message. He then looked at the names underneath and said, "Oh my god. Look."

Reading Beckett said, "Your first vic?"

"Our first vic," Darnley said.

When no one said anything Castle suggested, "Maybe the killer saw the book at her house."

"He's right," Darnley replied. "Sumner?"

"Take them I'll stay here in case we get anything else; and I'll be careful," she said, quickly adding the end when her partner began to protest.

Darnley, with a nod to his partner, got up and put on his coat as he walked with Castle and Beckett to the elevator telling them, "Hopefully you're right Rick and the killer left us something there."


	10. Love's Such A Force

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: I was very happy to get the feedback I did for the last chapter so let me get to my thank yous straight away! noelianoe (It was nice to see that you think the story is great so far and I'm really happy that you can't wait to read the next chapter which you can do right now!), Guest (I was glad to read you thought the last chapter was a great update. And really nice to know you love that I use song titles for the chapters and stories, I enjoy finding them 'cause some of them just work beautifully. Plus a lot of love song lyrics do work for Castle and Beckett in my mind. And it was nice to see you thought the chapter was wonderfully written. You're welcome again for posting!), TORONTOSUN (Great to see that you liked how Darnley was amused when Castle and Beckett finished each other's sentences, I enjoyed writing that) and vetgirlmx (Not surprised you found that insulting to the victim, since you're right her sharing that and ending up murdered definitely is. And I wasn't surprised either to see you agreed with it being another Gates, lol, that was my intention. Also you're right, it's different this time around since Beckett's not a detective. But yeah, the clue they got was from Castle so it should count for something. I'm really happy you thought it was funny the way Darnley and Sumner reacted to Castle and Beckett's whole mind meld, lol, it would bring up surprise of course. And I wanted to include the girls somehow still, lol, so yeah those calls are going to happen here and there since I don't want to forget them. Really great that the case is interesting and that you're trying to figure out the motives because of that. And I really hope that when Castle and Beckett interact with their friends it is good!). Thanks so much for the reviews, love reading each and every one and am grateful as well for the time taken to send them out to me!

A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _Brand New Day_ by Sting, from his album of the same name.

Love's Such A Force

Watching the houses as they neared the first vic's abode Castle couldn't help saying, "Something happened."

"I wonder why the hell they didn't call it in," Darnley said as there were two officers speaking to a woman on the sidewalk in front of the house. He parked as soon as he could and then stepped out with the two to go over to his colleagues. "What's going on?" he asked them when they were close.

"Mrs. Santiago here was taking a walk with her dog," one of the officers said. "You want to continue ma'am?"

"Yes I was walking and nearly home, at the house on the end of the block," the woman was telling them. "And I was here when I saw someone walking down the driveway. When I called out to them that they shouldn't be there they took off."

Sharing a look with Beckett, Darnley looked back at the woman and asked, "And could you see their face?"

"Oh sure but not all of it," the woman replied. "They had a scarf up to here," she told them, indicating underneath her nose.

"Could you tell at all that they were coming from the house?" Beckett then asked.

"I think so, in the back if they were," the woman replied.

"They were Detective," the other officer said to Darnley. "I went to check it out and you could see where they jimmied the door open to the kitchen."

"Alright, do you think you could talk to a sketch artist?" Darnley asked the woman.

"Sure," she replied with a slight shrug.

"Take her and contact me as soon as that sketch is ready," Darnley told the two officers. When they'd left with the woman he turned to Castle and Beckett and said, "We caught them before they could call it in."

"Do you still want to go inside?" Beckett asked.

"Of course," Darnley said before he then led them up to the front door. He had keys for it and opened the door saying, "But now I wonder if he anticipated us."

"It seems strange," Beckett said. "If you think about it."

"She's right; the book might have led back to him so why wouldn't he get rid of it before you were notified about the crime?" Castle said. "By the way-"

"Her mother found her," Darnley said as they went into the room that had been set aside as a library. "She was supposed to have brunch with her daughter and she came so they could go together but got no answer. We'll need to split up, gloves on?" When Beckett nodded and Castle held up his hands he nodded himself and started to look over the shelves of books.

Since there were scores of books Beckett did her best to pay close attention to the titles that she was passing until she paused at one section. "I think you would have liked her Rick," she couldn't help saying.

Turning his head Castle saw his books and then said, "You too," since theirs were beneath them.

"Patrick," Beckett called to him calmly.

"I've read them," Darnley said easily. He glanced at his friend and when he saw she was looking at him said, "His and then yours though I started reading his at the first Nikki Heat book since I never had a chance to read a Storm book after we'd talked about them. I'd wondered if he'd actually met you, she came off a bit…"

"Bitchy?" Beckett asked him. She was back to looking at the titles again but still talking though she nearly missed her friend nodding his head at her question. "I'm aware," she said with a smile as she gave a brief glance at her husband.

"That was more me trying to work out some frustrations with her at the beginning," Castle said.

"Ah, she shot you down," Darnley replied.

"Of course," Beckett said, not surprised that her friend wasn't either.

"I'm still wondering how you got married if that's the case but you did say four years," Darnley commented.

"Long enough for me to grow up… relatively," Castle said, amused how well the two knew each other. "Now you know a little about that, any stories you have from Academy?"

"We were training to become cops," Darnley said, pausing and holding up his hand before Beckett could say anything to her husband. "We kept things simple there, mainly because I was a coward."

"Patrick," Beckett said with a sigh.

"My father was… dominating," Darnley said as Castle looked over at them in confusion. "And Kate wasn't-" he started to say before cutting himself off.

"I wasn't in the mood to goof off," Beckett finished for him. "We would go out to bars but we tended to go back to that mini-golf place or visited each other's apartment and spent time together."

"We did, it was fun," Darnley replied with a nostalgic smile.

"It sounds like it," Castle replied, already aware that when the two were at the mini-golf or spending time together outside the Academy the detective wouldn't have to put on a façade. "What do we do if it's not here?" he asked.

"There's more places the book could be," Darnley said.

"I think he meant here in the house," Beckett told him.

"Oh, well… There's not much we can do," Darnley replied. "You don't think he'd sell it do you?" he asked, looking at Castle.

"Rick?" Beckett said when he didn't answer her friend.

"I've got it," Castle told them, pulling a book from the self. "Nice binding…" he commented with a slight frown before opening the cover to find the vic's name there.

"I can get CSU to compare the handwriting," Darnley said.

"Is it alright if I look-" Castle started to say before something fell out of the book and to the floor.

"Save it for later," Darnley replied.

Picking up the picture Beckett showed it to the two men and said, "Looks like they've been trailing you Patrick," as it was of the two of them hugging.

"Definitely since he got you instead of Kate," Castle commented. "What's it say on the back?"

" _Better set aside reminiscing Detective and catch me if you think you can_ ," Beckett read. "So he's not going to target your family."

"No but it looks like he might target the two of you; you're both in the shot," Darnley said grimly.

"We happened to be there," Castle pointed out.

"Yeah but he could have taken the shot anywhere," Darnley said in response. "Okay, let's get this to CSU and look at the sketch before we see where we'll go from here," he told them before they left the house.

* * *

"I have to wonder," Castle couldn't help saying as he took the glass of wine that Darnley had poured for him. "Why the photograph now?"

"You're assuming he went to put it in the book," the detective replied.

"There's not really another reason he'd be there," Beckett said. "You had a CSU team look over everything and compare pictures that were taken of the rooms and nothing's out of place."

"True," Darnley replied, sitting at the island in his kitchen.

"You have to take a break at some point Patrick," Beckett said as she put her hand on his arm since he was sitting next to her. "And there wasn't anything left to do."

"Yeah," Darnley said slowly before he nodded. "Alright, Trev should be here soon and Skye will be with him so we'll have dinner then."

"What about your daughter and in laws?" Castle asked as they were at the detective's house that evening after having done all they could with what they had so far in the case.

"They should be here soon," Darnley replied, leaning his cheek against his fist.

"Tired?" Beckett asked, studying him.

Yawning slightly the detective nodded before he said, "Mind if I head upstairs to lie down until they get here? I haven't been sleeping that well with this case; it's creeping me out to be honest."

"Go," Beckett urged him. "Is there a TV we can use though to call our daughters while we're waiting for everyone to get here?"

"Oh yeah of course," Darnley said as he got off the chair he was on. He led them over to the family room and said, "Need any help setting that up?"

"No, we're good," Castle replied, his tablet in hand.

"Get some rest Patrick," Beckett urged.

"Just twenty minutes," Darnley told the two before he left them.

Hearing her friend going up the stairs Beckett turned to Castle and said, "I texted your mother while we were in the kitchen."

"Are they eating?" Castle asked, turning to her after he had hooked up the tablet.

"No they were having their art time while Martha was sewing my sleeves," Beckett replied. "I'll text them now to call them."

With a brief nod Castle waited for her to let him know he could turn on the TV and couldn't help wonder how their daughters were doing as night approached.

* * *

"I don't know if that'll look right," Julia said doubtfully as she looked at her sister's choice of beads. "If you want it to look like fruit watermelon isn't green."

"Yeah, outside the fruit," Eliza protested.

Sighing Julia opened her mouth to speak when Martha quickly did telling the little girl, "I think she's taking some artistic license."

"But the shape I drew was a slice," Julia protested. "She wants to make all of it green."

"Do you have any black beads?" Martha asked after thinking about that for a moment.

"Yeah," Eliza said, holding up one. "Why Gram?"

"Because you can make those the seeds in your red watermelon slice and use the green at the bottom of the rind," Martha suggested.

Looking thoughtful Eliza finally nodded with a smile and said, "Kay, I can do that." She then began to pick out the beads that she wanted to use on her picture of fruit that her sister had drawn for her before she then said, "Gram? I'm hungry."

"I know darling, we'll eat very soon I promise," Martha said. "It's still a little early right now."

"What do we eat?" Eliza asked.

"You told me you were okay with trying some German food tonight," Martha said. "And that's what I ordered."

"Did you really eat what we're gonna have in Germany?" Julia asked her as she was pressing the beads down onto the glue on her mosaic artwork.

"I did, in Berlin," Martha replied with a smile. "That was a wonderful trip."

"Would we ever go?" Julia said.

"Maybe, I know your parents have talked about going through Europe so you two can see more of it," Martha said, cutting the ends of the thread she'd used to close the second of the sleeves she'd made. "But not yet. Yes kiddo?" she then asked Eliza as the toddler was waving her hand in the air back and forth.

"What did you have there?" Eliza said.

Martha, smiling at the question briefly, then said, "It's called _koenigsberg klopse_ and it is meatballs in sauce with potatoes. I thought you might enjoy it."

"I will," Eliza said firmly.

"We should finish," Julia told her sister then as she gently nudged her in the side. "That way we can show the pictures to Mommy and Daddy when they call."

"Oh… yeah," Eliza said in wonder then. She turned her attention back to her picture and prodigiously started to press beads into glue her sister set down for her then.

"Alright," Martha said as the girls were finishing with the beads. "Julia, do you think you might assist me with these?"

"Yep, I finished Gram," Julia said, looking at Eliza. When her little sister nodded she then turned her attention to the box their beads were kept in; separated by color; and putting the last blue beads she hadn't used back she closed it securely before going to Martha. "What do you think?" she asked, showing her her picture.

"Beautiful, you must be thinking of swimming," Martha said with a smile. "And let me see yours Eliza."

Showing her the fruits she'd made the toddler said, "Thanks Jules, you draw nice."

"That's 'cause they're shapes, I know how to draw those," Julia said. She then smiled and said, "You're welcome Lizzy."

"Okay they are both beautiful," Martha said before holding up one of the sleeves. "Try this on so I can see how it looks."

"On Jules?" Eliza asked with a slight giggle.

"No," Martha replied, smiling again. "I can imagine how it'll look on your mother's arm." She helped Julia with the sleeve and had her hold her right arm out and studied it before saying, "I think it will look very nice on her," to the girls.

"Yeah but you can see," Eliza said, indicating the fact that between the pattern of the blue lace was sheer.

"That's how it was on Maria's dress," Julia told her quickly as their grandmother helped her get the sleeve off her arm. She then heard the phone ring on the table and she rushed to it saying, "It's from Mommy," exuberantly.

"They're ready to talk with us," Martha said. "I hope we can see this friend of your mother's; his story has me intrigued to at least see him."

Waiting in front of the TV for Martha to turn on Eliza squeezed her sister's arm and asked, "Are they happy now?"

"They are," Julia said reassuringly. At that moment their parents appeared on the screen and she was surprised to see them looking back at a doorway they could just barely see in the background. "Hi Mommy, Daddy," she called to get their attention.

Turning Beckett smiled as Eliza said the same and she told them, "Hello you two, I hope you don't mind but we're going to have some guests in a bit."

"Who?" Eliza asked.

"This is my friend I told you about," Beckett said as Darnley came into the room, carrying his daughter that his in laws had just brought to the house. "Patrick and his daughter Maddy."

"Hello," Darnley said, smiling as the toddler on the screen ducked behind the little girl there. "I think I know your names by now; as many times as your parents have told me them. You're Julia and you're Eliza."

"Yeah, they said?" the toddler asked shyly.

"They did, especially your dad. I think he's missed you," Darnley replied.

"I did and hello girls," Castle said.

"Maddy's cute," Julia said, seeing the baby girl had skin similar to the shade her friend had at school who was African American which she thought was an interesting coincidence.

"She's from South Africa," Darnley explained. He then looked at Beckett and when she nodded her head slightly told them, "Like my husband is."

"Way down there?" Eliza asked in surprise as she knew about the country from what her parents had told them about maps they'd had them look at.

"Way down there," Darnley echoed. "You want to say hello to them?" he directed to his daughter.

Laughing Maddy wrapped her arms around her father's neck and blew on his cheek a little to the girls' giggle.

"Maybe another time," Darnley said with a slight smile.

"Will we see her when we're down there?" Julia asked.

"Oh of course, your dad insisted that the two of us and Trevor; my husband; head to the National Zoo with you," Darnley said. "If that's okay with you."

"Yeah, that's good," Eliza said with a nod.

"Good," Maddy pronounced firmly, smiling when her father chuckled slightly.

"Okay, I better go because Trev is going to be here… about now," Darnley said. "It was great to get to see you two… and you as well Ms. Rodgers, sorry."

"Call me Martha; since we'll be seeing you later this week; and don't worry," Castle's mother said. "I've been interested in seeing you at least, since Kate's told us about you."

"It'll be interesting to meet you," Darnley replied with a smile. "Goodnight and in case I don't see you before it, see you this weekend."

After her friend had left Beckett turned to the girls and said, "So now you know who Patrick is."

"Yeah are you still friends?" Eliza asked.

"Yes," Beckett told them, not surprised they'd asked. "So now your daddy and I want to know what you've been up to today besides your special lunch."

"She's right, I do," Castle said. "But so does your mom."

"Okay well after you left Mommy, Lizzy and I really tried to sleep but it was hard," Julia replied. "So Gram said we could sit in bed with her until she got up." There she stopped and then glanced at her sister who pouted at her. "Say it," she told her teasingly.

"I fell back 'sleep," Eliza told them before she sighed. "I don't wanna… but I was sleepy."

"It's alright you did," Beckett told her soothingly.

"Better that you did," Castle told her. "So what did you do when you got up?"

"We had breakfast and then got dressed," Eliza said.

"After that we played one of Lizzy's games before lunch," Julia replied.

"What about your homework?" Beckett asked as she knew her daughter had some reading to do for history.

"She did that before we started on our art and sewing," Martha told them with a smile.

"It didn't take too long," Julia said. "And Gram made me read out loud to them."

"Nice, so we know definitely that you got it done," Castle commented. "So after lunch you went to the dog park and playground," he told them. "Then you came back and read Julia, what about you Eliza?"

"We listened to her and then read one of her library books before we moved on to what we were doing when you called us," Martha said. "Girls?"

"We made these!" Eliza said, showing the picture she'd made to them.

"Oh, very nice," Beckett said.

Nodding Castle said, "I agree you did a great job, I'm hungry for fruit."

Eliza giggled and then said, "Jules drew for me."

"Just the shapes," Julia told them. When they looked at her she held up her picture and said, "I wanted to make a mosaic."

"And you did," Castle told her. "Also you did a great job with it."

"He's right," Beckett said then. "Martha?" When her mother in law looked at her she told her, "You can put those pictures up on the fridge."

"Yeah?" Eliza asked with a smile.

"Yep, they'll look perfect there," Castle told them.

"What about you?" Julia asked. "How was the case?"

"We're just starting to get some evidence," Beckett said, glancing at Eliza before Julia nodded to her in understanding that she couldn't say much more than that. "So we're still working on it but hopefully tomorrow we'll get something new to help us."

"I hope so too," Eliza told them.

Hearing the sound of voices in the lobby that weren't Darnley's or his in laws' Castle said, "I think we better go, it sounds like Skye and Mary got here. And Trevor too."

"We'll call you tomorrow, around this time if we can," Beckett said. "We'll text you Martha."

"Have a good dinner, Mommy, Daddy," Eliza said. "Can't wait to see you tomorrow."

"We can't either," Castle said. "Mother, have fun tomorrow."

"I will," his mother replied with a slight smile. "Be careful you two."

"We will," Beckett said. "Goodnight Martha. Girls," she then said to the two. "I love you so much and sweet dreams tonight."

"Night Mommy, love you," Eliza told her with a smile so she wouldn't think she was sad.

"I love you too Mommy," Julia said. "Have a good night with all your friends."

"We will," Castle said. "And I love you two a ton, sweet dreams."

"Night Daddy," Julia and Eliza said at the same time. "I love you too," the former said first.

"I love you too Daddy," Eliza spoke swiftly then.

Waving as the girls were doing so too Castle turned off the screen and then said, "They're doing better than I thought."

"I think they were worried about us apart," Beckett said as she watched him go to the TV to get his tablet. "And they can't forget they're going to see us on Friday."

"Of course," Castle said, handing her the tablet and wires to put away in her bag she'd brought to the house. "Hey everyone," he said as they went to the kitchen. "Sorry we're late we were just talking to our daughters."

"Now I can introduce you to my father," Trevor said to them as he walked over to the two with a man a bit shorter and huskier than him. "Father, this is Kate Beckett; Patrick's Academy friend he's told us about. Kate, this is my father, Joseph Nkosi."

"Great to meet you," Beckett told the man as she shook his hand.

"It is wonderful to meet you," Joseph said, his accent thicker than his son's. "Patrick told us how you helped him; you were brave to do so."

"He's a great friend, there was no question as to whether or not I would," Beckett said with a shrug. "And you know my husband already."

"Yes, wonderful to see you as well," Joseph said with a nod. "Patrick has told us about you both writing together."

"It's been a lot of fun," Castle said, nodding.

While her husband was talking to Nkosi's father about their writing Beckett went to Skye and squeezing her arm asked, "How did it go today?"

Handing Maddy in her arms to her wife Skye went with her to the entrance of the kitchen and said, "We can't give any details but it's slow going."

"Trevor won't tell us what it is he is investigating," Bethany said as she stated to take a casserole dish over to the dining room table that had been set. She smiled at Castle as he took it from her and then said, "He is very tight lipped this time."

"I need to be Mother," Nkosi told her. "Tell them about what you made for us tonight," he then urged her to try and change the subject.

"When we sit down to eat, do you have Maddy's food?" Bethany asked.

"I have it," Darnley told them. "Let's sit and see what we have tonight," he told the others. "But whatever it is," he directed to Castle and Beckett. "It'll be good."

"I'm looking forward to this," Castle said earnestly.

"Have you had any kind of food from South Africa?" Bethany said after they had gathered around the table. "Have you been?"

"No but I'm guessing we're about to taste some," Castle answered since the night before they'd just had some pizza Darnley had brought to the house.

"You are," Joseph said after he had begun to laugh deeply which set his granddaughter laughing.

As she was cutting into the dish in the middle of the table Bethany explained, "This is called _bobotie_ and is spiced meat with raisins in it and baked egg on top of it. It has rice and chutney but it's not particularly spicy."

"You managed to add some _chakalaka_ ," Skye said as they were being served.

"Yes and some mealie-bread since my granddaughter enjoys it so greatly," Bethany said as she served the last person before sitting. " _Chakalaka_ is spicy vegetables but I resist the urge to over spice it since my son and Patrick prefer the flavors of the vegetables."

"It looks good, so does the _bobotie_ ," Beckett said. "Everything does, especially the bread," she said with a smile as she looked at Maddy who was placing a piece of it into her mouth seriously.

"It is good," Castle said after trying the dish. He thought for a moment and then said, "Yeah, thanks for this."

"It's a lot of flavors and textures," Darnley told him. "But once you're a little more used to it you'll enjoy it."

"You've had it before?" Beckett was asking Skye and Mary after she had complimented Bethany on the dishes and bread.

"It's not our first time here as guests of Patrick and Trevor," Skye told them. "Since we've collaborated a few times in the past."

"Not many and not after you met her," Darnley told his friend.

"But Bethany is a great cook," Mary said. "And she taught us how to make our dessert."

"Ko ko ko!" Maddy crowed.

After they'd stopped laughing and chuckling at the baby while Joseph fed her some of the vegetables she had on her plate Trevor explained, "It's _koeksister_ from a Cape Malay recipe though not spicy as it traditionally is served-"

"Because my little Maddy couldn't eat it if it was," Bethany said with a smile.

"I would do that for our daughters if I was making it," Castle said, gesturing to himself and Beckett.

"We would do it for ours too," Mary said.

"Right, in place of the spices we use peel from tangerines like you do. They love it," Skye said to Trevor's mother.

"I look forward to trying it now," Beckett said with a smile to her.

"Mind if I get a recipe too?" Castle asked.

With a laugh Bethany nodded and they then began to talk together about different subjects that took them through the rest of the meal until they were eating the dessert and drinking coffee. Once they'd finished Darnley and his husband urged the others to remain seated while they helped Nkosi's parents clean up.

"What did you end up doing all day?" Beckett asked Mary as the woman was wiping Maddy's mouth and hands clean.

"I met up with an old friend from back home," Mary replied. "She moved out here when she got married ten years ago and we haven't seen each other in five."

"How is Antonia?" Skye asked.

"Good she and her husband are doing well and their son is too," Mary said. "After that I just went around to the monuments on the mall."

"Where are you two staying?" Beckett asked, wondering why she hadn't asked that before.

"Since Mary's with me we're at the Hotel Monaco," Skye replied. "In Penn Quarter."

"That's a nice hotel," Castle said.

"What about you two?" Skye said.

"The Mandarin Oriental," Castle replied. He then nodded to Beckett and said, "She's seen it but just the outside."  
"That'll be a nice hotel as well, I've heard though haven't stayed there," Skye told her.

"It is," Darnley said as he came in. "My in laws are heading back home so I need my daughter so she can say goodnight."

At that the others got up as well and went out to the entry where the two were putting on their coats. After they'd been thanked for the meal the couple said goodbye to their family while the others went into the family room.

"So now that we can talk about it, any leads in your case?" Skye asked as they were all sitting.

"To a degree," Beckett said. She was about to explain what she meant when she saw Darnley and Nkosi in the doorway and said, "She's going to bed?"

"She is," Darnley replied. "We'll be right back down."

"We're probably going to leave soon ourselves," Mary said when they were alone again. "Need to get a little more sleep."

"You slept on… oh, you meant me," Skye replied with a slight smile. "Yeah I could use some rest since we're not finished investigating quite yet."

"Probably should wait for Patrick and Trev to get down here," Mary said. "Before you talk about your case."

Shortly after that the two men entered and Beckett said, "How much can we say?"

"They're not going to talk," Darnley replied as he and his husband sat down on the love seat that was free. "Go ahead."

Explaining what she could about what they'd found that day Beckett said, "Were you aware of the dioramas?"

"Oh sure, that's because Corey back at home took a seminar with those," Skye said. "You remember him right?" When Castle and Beckett nodded she said, "So I was aware of them, grim but well done and they served a great purpose of course." She then looked thoughtful and said, "That could be the reason they're being used."

"We thought of that," Darnley said. "But at this point I'm focusing more on the killer; I'll get the motive later."

"Nothing from the museums the dioramas have been in?" Nkosi asked.

"No and they weren't at many museums in the past," Darnley said.

"So it didn't take us much time to check. And that sketch is going to be on the news tonight and in the papers tomorrow," Castle said. "Okay so now it's just us investigative adults, what about your case?" he said looking back and forth between Skye and Nkosi.

"I'm not one," Mary said.

"Still, a doctor knows to keep things-" Castle started to say.

"Alright," Skye said, rolling her eyes. "We'll tell you but you need to keep this quiet."

"Why isn't there a lot in the paper about your case?" Beckett asked.

"Because the potential for this being catastrophic is disconcerting for the FAA, they're trying to suppress as much as they can," Skye answered.

"She is right," Nkosi agreed. "But what happened focuses on the rudders."

"What about them?" Castle asked in surprise as that was all they said.

"They're breaking off," Skye replied. "Two planes, the same make, different airlines and they came off after the planes hit some rough turbulence."

"The pilots?" Mary said.

"We thought so at first but the parameters for the rudder pedals do not show any kind of overuse except to compensate for the turbulence," Nkosi answered. "So there is one thing left and that is what we discovered today."

"The metal," Skye said when he turned to her. "It was absolutely rife with impurities where the rudder was connected to the tail."

"The bolts?" Castle asked.

"We're trying to determine that," Skye replied.

"But it looks like it is," Nkosi said.

"Were those bolts made in the same batch?" Beckett then inquired.

"We don't know," Skye said, smiling at that. "I'm not surprised you had the same thought but the metal for the rudders for both planes was made at the same time."

"So you just need to check on a last few things and you'll be set," Mary said.

"We will," Skye replied with a slight yawn. She apologized and then said, "We're going to cut this a bit short I am exhausted."

"That's alright, hopefully you'll get some rest," Darnley said as they all stood up.

"I'll see you at headquarters tomorrow," Skye told Nkosi as they hugged briefly. "Hopefully we'll have things by then set."

"Hopefully," the investigator replied with a nod.

"We'll see you… at some point," Skye then said as her wife was saying goodbye to Darnley and Nkosi. "Too bad we weren't staying at the same hotel we could have met up for breakfast."

"I think we'll stay in until Patrick needs us," Beckett said. "Rest a little ourselves."

"I don't blame you," Skye said as they hugged before she did the same with Castle. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, I really hope we'll see each other again," Mary told Castle and Beckett as she hugged them both.

"We will it's just the when that's foggy at the moment," Castle replied.

Calling goodnight to the two with the others Nkosi turned to Castle and said, "I heard you were into swords and daggers?"

"Oh, yeah I am," Castle said, knowing immediately why he'd said that. "You have any I can see?"

"This way," Nkosi said, smiling briefly at his husband before he led Castle to the office he shared with his husband.

"Why the subterfuge?" Beckett asked in amusement as she walked with her friend to the family room, sitting on the couch with him once they were there.

"I don't know, I guess they think we're going to start gossiping," Darnley replied, shrugging. "But there is one thing I've been dying to talk to you about."

"You heard?" Beckett asked, though she remembered they weren't in New York as soon as that had left her mouth.

"Everyone's heard," Darnley replied. "I was a little surprised at the media silence from you. And I asked Castle about it last night and he was surprised I knew about your mother's case."

"I don't think it ever came up in conversation that I'd told you everything I knew… and continued to do so when… oh that was fast," Beckett said, glancing past the back of the couch to see that their husbands were in the doorway looking a little unsure. "Join the conversation."

"We don't want to intrude," Nkosi said as Castle went to sit on the armchair to his wife's right.

"You won't," Beckett said reassuringly. "What I was telling you before is that he didn't know I kept telling you what I had up until you left to come back here."

"When was that?" Castle asked before Darnley could say anything to that.

"About the time I went at the case too hard," Beckett replied with a slight sigh. "At the beginning."

"That makes sense," Castle said. "You held on to her didn't you?"

"I could see where it was going to go if someone didn't," Darnley replied. "She was just starting to get through to her father with his drinking and I was afraid she'd do the same just with investigating. I really wish we hadn't lost touch," he told her.

"So do I," Beckett replied with a slight smile. "But I had Royce's help."

"I was sorry to hear what had happened to him," Darnley said with a sigh. "Both his deception with the jewelry case and his murder. Must have been hard on you," he told his friend, looking at her closely.

"Of course, I'd been in love-" Beckett started to say.

"Oh god Kate, not this again," Darnley interrupted with a harder sigh. "How many times do I have to tell you? You weren't in love with him."

"How do you know?" Beckett asked before she glanced at her husband who didn't seem to have any particular reaction to where the conversation was going though she'd never told him her exact feelings for her old TO.

"I know how you were back then," Darnley said firmly, leaning into her and taking her hand. "You never let anyone in and I was lucky we were so close. So love? No, I'm sorry Kate it doesn't work."

Beckett slipped her hand away and said, "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"What could I have said when he was still your TO?" Darnley replied. "If I had told you that you had what amounted to a school girl crush on him because it was safe, would you have listened? That's all it was as he wasn't going to even look at you that way because one the age difference was a bit much and two he was your superior in effect!"

Sighing Beckett said, "Alright, I thought I did because I thought…"

"He was safe," Darnley supplied. "Nothing would have happened and that's what you wanted."

Startled when his wife looked at him Castle said quickly, "I have to agree with him, sorry love. I wasn't sure the relationship between you too." Something then came to mind and he asked, "Did he know about your mother too?"

"I'd told him about Coonan, right before I found out he was dirty," Beckett said. "I had some kind of delusion thinking he was the one that kept me grounded with regards to the case. I'm so sorry Patrick," she said to her friend.

"I'd been out of the picture for a while," he said, holding his hands up in the air. "So I'm not surprised you thought it was him. Though he did give you good advice on the case; I'd give him that."

"You never liked him did you?" Beckett said, unable to help smiling slightly.

"I was worried about you Kate," Darnley said. "He was like I told you before a little older than you, called you 'kid' constantly and there was the fact that his voice was more than a little irritating to me."

"You should have told her," Nkosi suddenly said.

"It wouldn't have worked," Castle said. "She wouldn't have listened, maybe not at first."

"Probably not at all," Beckett said, reaching out and letting him take her hand to let him know that she wasn't angry at him. "My mother's murder was a psychological blow," she explained to Nkosi. "It took me some time to get myself to a relatively normal place."

"But you found who it was," the man said.

"I told him too," Castle told his wife quickly. "They knew the story about Bracken already and he's your friend so I took the chance."

"I don't mind," Beckett reassured him.

"I'm just glad you're okay," Darnley said. "But more important I'm glad you're where you are now."

"You mean with him?" Beckett asked with a slightly wry smile as she indicated Castle.

"Exactly," Darnley replied, smiling benignly almost at her. "And it was great to see your daughters."

"We'll let them meet you both," Castle said. "After that conversation I don't think we'd be able to keep them away."

"If we wanted to do which we don't," Beckett said. "They'll want to meet Maddy in person now."

"Are you two planning on any more kids?" Castle asked. He was expecting Beckett to look at him or to scold him for asking that but when she didn't he realized that she was wondering the same.

"We're looking into adopting a boy from Louisiana, a baby I should say," Darnley replied. "His name is Keo Joseph and we had already agreed to begin the adoption process before we even knew his name."

"Then it was fate," Castle said, smiling as Beckett rolled her eyes. "Will you be able to adopt him?"

"We will, it just might take a little more time for the paperwork," Nkosi replied. "But we've met him already and we're just… completely in love with him, he's so adorable."

"How old is he?" Beckett asked.

"He was born on November first," Darnley said. "The same month you were I recalled when they told us that."

"So he's three months," Castle said. "Any pictures?"

Darnley took his phone out and then showed the screen to the two saying, "That was last month so he's a little bigger now."

"What about Maddy? Have you explained to her that she's going to be a big sister?" Beckett asked with a smile for the picture.

"Not yet, we want to wait until we are completely sure we will bring him home," Nkosi said.

"That makes sense but one thing I've wanted to ask," Castle then told them. "What is Maddy's last name and what will Keo's be?"

"Nkosi-Darnley," Darnley said. "I suggested the reverse but he was adamant about the order."

"It's still a nice name," Castle said.

"He's right, it is," Beckett told them. "And I think we should head out ourselves now," she said. "Unless…"

"Go ahead and ask," Darnley replied, already having an idea of what she was going to say.

"What happened with your family?" Beckett asked softly.

"I'd been dating men secretly," Darnley said, feeling his husband's hand on his shoulder then. "But once I'd met Trev I realized that I couldn't do that anymore, it was way different from my past relationships. Also there was a part of me that was tired of hiding. So I went to their home out in Maryland," he said, saying where it was for Castle's benefit. "And came out to my entire family; my parents and three brothers. And as soon as they discerned it wasn't a crazy joke on my part they threw me out. My brothers would have literally thrown me out if I wasn't taller than them and that was the last I saw of them and will be the last unless they can accept me. As it was they did shove me out the door and nearly off the porch."

Beckett sighed and said, "I was hoping that with time going on and the attitude towards gays changing…"

"I'd had the same hope myself," Darnley replied. "I'm just glad I didn't take you that day," he told Nkosi.

"I had tried but he was insistent and as soon as he came home we went to see my parents to tell them about us," the man told Castle and Beckett.

"And you got a better reception with them," Beckett stated.

"Much, it's why we bought them the house down the block as a thanks and also because Trev promised himself he would do that for them whenever he could," Darnley said.

"We were not rich when we came from Cape Town," Nkosi explained. "They worked very hard to move us from the apartment we lived in at first and to a town house."

"Nice of you to do that," Castle said. "But meeting them I can see that they definitely deserve it."

"Now you can head out," Darnley said, smiling at Beckett so she would know that he was only teasing her.

"We're going," she said, slightly laughingly as she and Castle stood while he texted for a cab. "You'll call us tomorrow right?" she asked her friend.

"Of course but when that is I have no idea," Darnley replied. "So have breakfast and relax until then."

"Despite the case," Beckett said as she wrapped her arms around him tightly. "I'm so glad it brought me down here to see you again. Too."

Laughing slightly at the pause before she'd said the word too Darnley said, "I was waiting for that. And you're welcome for getting you down here sooner to see your husband."

"That amuses you," Beckett said, narrowing her eyes at him though she was still smiling.

"When I talked about how you were before I didn't think you'd end up getting married back then," Darnley said.

"He told me that last night when we talked a little about you," Castle said, shaking Nkosi's hand quickly. "And he thanked me too…"

"It needed to be done," Darnley said, going over and shaking his hand as Beckett let go of him. "And call me Patrick too."

"Sure," Castle said.

"And you can both call me Trevor, I have no issue with that," Nkosi said. He was surprised when Beckett hugged him and said, "It was wonderful to meet you, Patrick has talked often of you as I mentioned before."

"Thank you," Beckett said then as she stepped back from him. "And your parents as well for what you did for him."

"We all love him," Nkosi said, smiling at his husband. "We will see you again."

"Of course, thank you for dinner too," Beckett said as they heard the sound of a car in the front of the house. "Call us as soon as you need us Patrick."

"I will, goodnight," Darnley called as they left to go down to the cab, his husband echoing him.

During the drive to the hotel Castle took his wife's hand, not surprised when she grasped it very tightly and he smiled at her refraining from speaking though as there was no chance of privacy in that taxi. He was relieved when they were at the hotel and stepping off the elevator and going to their room saying, "Coffee?" before they reached the door.

"A cup would be nice," Beckett said while she waited for him to slide the key card in. She let him go in first since he knew where the lights were and she stepped inside, looking around the living room they'd stepped into. "Nice," she said with a nod. "So despite being alone you were very well ensconced here," she told him with a smile as his laptop was on the table with some books next to it.

"Oh sure but take a look at the bedroom," Castle said, motioning to it.

Beckett took off her coat before she did that and handed it to her husband who was holding his hand out for it. Stepping into the bedroom after he had turned on the light she smiled and said, "So this is where you've been."

"Not for too long but yeah this has been a temporary abode," Castle said. "While it was nice it wasn't too comforting," he told her then honestly.

"I'm not surprised," Beckett replied, going to the closet where he was placing their coats. "Really?" she asked when she saw how large it was.

"I was very reluctant agreeing to this tour," Castle said. "I was lucky to get this room until next Monday from them."

"I'm glad you did," Beckett said before she took his hand once she saw that he was finished. She led him over to the bathroom then where she gave a brief glance at the Chinese marble before going to the bed and sitting on what was apparently already designated her side. "What is it?" she asked when he didn't follow her and instead remained standing.

"I'm going to take a very quick shower," Castle said. "I worked out for a little in the gym this morning and would like to clean off."

"And you didn't before you left?" Beckett asked though she'd let go of his hand.

"I was running late," Castle said.

"You don't have to repress anymore," Beckett said with a smile as she knew why he'd done that.

"No but I'll be right back," Castle assured her, kissing the back of her hand warmly.

Beckett didn't try to protest as she couldn't blame him for wanting to clean himself as she knew his workout was likely a little rough. So while she waited she then looked around the room and spotted something on the table out in the living room that she couldn't recognize as one of his books. Walking over to it she saw it was a journal and opening it, wondered if her husband had kept a diary. But the second she saw her name at the top of the first entry she knew that he had written it for her and she took it back into the bedroom, sitting on the chez lounge to begin to read. _Kate_ , she began with again as she wanted the entirety of what she assumed was in effect a letter to her.


	11. Love's Such A Force (Part 2)

_My first night here in Atlanta, the city is nice but is it weak of me to tell you that I can't quite enjoy it as I have in the past? I don't know, I'd get the feeling that you'd tell me it wasn't weak to think this way._

 _But I'm sure you're wondering why I got this journal, to be honest I just wanted to have a 'conversation' with you even though as soon as I get back from that party I'll be talking to you. Hopefully doing a lot more than that but of course I digress. I will give this to you so you can read and I'm also telling myself to not hold back since I really want to let you know how I'm feeling._

 _I can just hear your voice in my head, "Then how are you feeling right this second Rick?" Well, in one word, tired. It wasn't the flight or the book signing it's just the effort to really try and tell myself I can't need you as badly as I do right now. It's not so much sexual, just in general. It's hard enough when one of us spends the night in the city but this is a lot longer and far further than we've ever been apart in our marriage and I hate it. I hate my writing a little bit for this but of course it's a part of me and I can't stop that. But I miss you, the girls and just being home._

Beckett bit her lower lip at how hard she could tell her husband had underlined the last word and she could almost feel his exhaustion that he'd been talking about. Relieved that she was with him then but wondering how all the other entries would go she then read on as there wasn't too much left of the first one.

 _I love our daughters but I'm going to feel a little weird talking about them much more than that, plus I've told them how I feel about them; how much I love being their father which I know you'll probably mention to them while I'm gone. So I'll just focus on you, since you're the reason I bought this journal. (I'm hoping you won't be angry with me for that but I get the feeling you might understand.)_

 _So what do I have to say now, again, hearing you talking to me in my head; you've taken over my consciousness and I couldn't be happier. I couldn't help thinking about our past together and the way we've been over the years. Nothing like separation to take stock of us I guess. But just so you don't start to panic I'm not regretting anything at all. I'm grateful for what we had, even at the beginning since it's always a reminder of why I fought so hard to stay in your life. And the reward was well worth it, I have to assure you._

 _I have to go, looking at my watch I'm going to be late for the party but this was just a trial to see what I'd write in the future. But really quickly I love you and can't help thinking about it although I probably really shouldn't. I'll be back here to write soon I'm sure, when I don't know but I didn't mind writing this letter of sorts to you and it'll be interesting to see what you think when you read it._

"So what do you think?" Castle asked as he stepped out into the bedroom to see what she was doing.

Looking up at him Beckett smiled and said, "Interesting, you got cut off though."

"Yeah I was running late then too," Castle replied.

"Did you write an entry for every night?" Beckett asked as she realized something.

"Yeah, I managed to," Castle replied. "So there are nine entries." He was surprised when she started to flip through the book and said, "I think you kind of need to read them in order."

"And I think I can go out of order," Beckett told him a little absently. She found what she was looking for and then said, "What do you remember of the night of the sixth?"

Castle wasn't sure what was so special about that night before it suddenly came to him. "I was drunk and I talked to you but what I said… I can't tell you." He then looked down at the journal and said, "That's where you're at?"

"Yes," Beckett said simply. "Do you want me to read it aloud?"

"Not particularly, I've read it myself; the morning after," Castle answered.

Beckett smiled, since she'd been hoping he'd say that, and she then turned her attention to the page to begin reading what her husband had partially expressed to her when they'd spoken that same night.

 _Kate I can't help seeing you right now as soon as I sat down at the desk there is. I saw you all during the party and I couldn't help avoid the women around me. They tried to come close a lot but I shied away. Couldn't stop thinking about you and mostly how we were that last night before I left. Remember? The way you kept touching me and pulling me to you I'm surprised I didn't sleep through the cab ride I had._

 _I ended up talking to a woman though, just one, but if you think I started flirting you have to ask Mc… McCartney? No, whatever the hell his name his, ask him because he heard what I was telling that woman about. She was showing too much off and thinking I wanted that and said I must be lonely. Oh man, I'm laughing now, I told her all about you and how you were my goddess and how I was going to talk to you after I got back. The way we were going to be together and the way we were together but I promise no details; I don't say that because that's between us. But I can say it here._

 _They say that way back in the past sex was a path to worship and I say I do that to you because I found out our first time being with you was more than just physical. My god love there's nothing like the feel of us in that first moment together and when we finally come. It's indescribable and I can almost feel myself with you in a state of spiritual ecstasy that's so hard to get rid of._

Castle cleared his throat slightly as he knew where his wife had finished reading when she glanced over at him and said, "I meant it, even if I was drunk."

"I know," Beckett said. "I'm surprised you didn't use up the entire journal for this," she couldn't help telling him.

"Yeah I explain why I didn't do that," Castle said, nodding to the book before he could tell she was reading again.

 _But there comes a point_ , Beckett began with in the next paragraph, _when I think; like right now; why you're with me. I can't be giving you what you want… am I? Or is it you're just satisfied enough? I wish you were here this second so I could ask you._

"Don't worry," Beckett told her husband. "I'm not faking passing out sometimes and not just when you're hunting for my g-spot." She thought it was adorable when her husband suddenly looked embarrassed and she then pulled on his hand until he was sitting at her legs on the space provided. Turning back to the book she then read the next paragraph and continued from there until she finished.

 _But I just wish you were here so I could fuck you, I see you in my mind underneath; above me… however the hell I can have you. I just hope that's what you want… what if it isn't? What am I going to do if she doesn't? I have to make sure I pleasure her enough that I'm not the only one getting off because it's amazing._

 _I love you I have to say it again it's why I do what I do when we're together and I want you now. I shouldn't have left but maybe you miss me as much? I don't know but I'm gonna keep hoping that you do. And I'll tell you when I talk to you which I have to do now…_

"You know you did that a lot more when you talked to me that night," Beckett said, closing the journal and starting to hand it to him.

Shaking his head Castle quickly said, "It's yours now. What do you mean though?"

"I thought you wouldn't remember, so I recorded our conversation with my phone," Beckett said, getting up to put the journal down and then grab her phone. She sat next to him and played their conversation from the first time he'd talked to her in the second person and to just before she'd directed him to pleasure himself.

"Um… I'm sorry?" Castle asked.

"No, it let me know how you feel," Beckett replied. Finally she let herself indulge in what she'd wanted to do since he'd left and kissed him hard, their arms wrapping around each other so tightly she was almost afraid that they were going to hurt each other before they eased off and finally parted fully. "And I'm glad to hear it's that intense," she told him. She then smiled and pressing her forehead to his told him about how she'd been during his time away. "I was worried," she said.

"I had a feeling you'd be like that," Castle said. "But I didn't want to bring it up in case you might have been annoyed."

Beckett leaned over and kissed him warmly on the lips before she then said, "No but I have never been like this before Rick. For any man."

"Sorenson…" Castle said very hesitantly.

Shaking her head firmly Beckett replied, "He went to Boston and I was a little upset for the first week but by the second things had taken over at work that I had to focus on and it was easy to forget him. That's why I would use work to push men away."

"Thank you for not doing that with me in the end," Castle told her seriously.

Beckett smiled briefly and then said, "Let me wash up quickly myself."

Castle wanted to protest that as he felt they were still talking but when she gave him a peck on the lips before giving him her phone he realized that he couldn't do that since she'd left by the time he recovered. Sighing he got up and set her phone down on her nightstand after setting the alarm. He glanced around the room because he had no other option and then went over to the bed to sit on the edge while he waited.

Opening the door Beckett wasn't surprised to see her husband wasn't standing but she couldn't help saying to him, "Didn't think to see you waiting."

"After all this time and you honestly thought I'd fall asleep," Castle said though he couldn't tear his eyes away from her robe, wondering what she had on under it; or what she didn't.

"No but you could rest," Beckett said.

"Yeah it's, early," Castle said as he glanced at his watch and saw that it was barely eight thirty. "Wait, I was supposed to make you some coffee-"

"We don't need it," Beckett told him before she wrapped her arms around him tightly and then took his kiss as he beat her to it. Stroking the back of his head she pressed against him as closely as she could, shivering at the way he was feeling her back though it was covered. She let that go on for a while until finally they stopped and she panted for air for a bit until she could speak. "I want your clothes off of you," she told him firmly.

"I know they're stifling I should get them off," Castle said in agreement before he started to reach for the first button on his shirt. But before he could get it unbuttoned she was taking it and removing it before they took care of the rest together. After he'd shaken off the fabric he tried to kiss her when she stopped him and he had to allow her to reach for his pants. Watching her as she opened them he shuddered and said, "You're really eager."

Glancing up at him Beckett said with a smile, "You're not?"

"Yes but I get the feeling you'd stop me if I tried to undress you," Castle told her as he stepped away from her to take care of the rest of his clothes. Naked in front of her he grunted as she grasped his erection and watched the way she stroked at him. "Wait, you talked me through this didn't you? The night I was drunk?" he asked as he suddenly remembered.

"Mmm-hmm," Beckett replied. "But I'm not going to do this tonight."

"N-no?" Castle stammered as she gripped him a little tighter.

"No, sit," Beckett told him as she gently pushed him on the shoulders until he was sitting on the edge of the bed. As soon as he was she got on his lap and proceeded to kiss him hungrily and let them both get involved in that for a while until she was ready to continue with what she'd had planned in the first place though it was hard to stop.

After some time when they'd parted to breathe Castle looked at his wife and asked, "You're not too hot in that?"

"I'm fine," Beckett said simply and with a slight smile at her husband. She leaned in to kiss him again but then hesitated.

"What is it?" Castle asked in slight concern as she was frowning.

Instead of answering him Beckett kissed him gently before she got off his lap and stood, untying the robe and opening it for him. The way his eyes widened at the sight of her she said, "I was going to surprise you with this back at home but I couldn't resist bringing it now," as she removed the robe.

"Did you pack this while Julia was there?" Castle asked. When she just gave him a look at that he nodded and then swallowed as he stared at her. He reached up and held her by her sides, feeling the silk of her black negligee and he couldn't help saying, "Why did you choose it?"

"The reason you're staring at me right now," Beckett said in slight amusement though she couldn't deny being more than a little turned on by the way he rubbed the fabric up and down her skin. When he glanced away from her breasts; visible under the sheer fabric covering them; she cupped his face and leaned down so they were kissing one another. She was slightly startled when her husband suddenly cut that off before they really started and grabbed her, nearly throwing her onto the middle of the bed. Laughing slightly she asked him, "Trying to take over?"

"No," Castle said roughly and unapologetically. "I'm tired of having to wait."

Beckett couldn't fault him for that; since it was exactly what she was feeling; and she pulled him down to her for a kiss though that one was brief as well. A little irked she was about to ask him what was wrong when he then whispered into her ear. "You're sure?" she asked. "It's just going to delay."

"I'm sure," Castle said firmly. He couldn't help kiss her again and murmured as he stared into her eyes, "We have the time for it."

Pulling on the back of his neck by her arms that were around him Beckett drew him to her for another kiss before they finally parted. "How?" she asked.

Looking in between them Castle then said, "Let me figure that out first…" before he leaned down. The cry that left his wife's lips was loud and he couldn't help be proud of it as he kissed her left nipple. His hand came up to cup the mound and he rubbed it a little before finally taking it with his mouth. He was sure that once he closed his eyes as he began to suckle at her they were rolling into the back of his head. The moans that were coming from Beckett were highly arousing and he wasn't sure he'd be able to last that long. That suddenly became a worry but he tried to work over both her breasts before he pulled away to tell her, "I might-"

"I probably will too," Beckett interrupted him as she knew what he was going to say. She smiled at his slightly taken aback look and brushed her lips against his before saying, "We haven't been together for nine days Rick it's bound to happen. And really doing this first will help us once we're finished."

Castle nodded and then told her, "I want you on top."

"Alright but since I'll be finished before you…" Beckett began.

Flipping them around as he kissed her hard it took Castle a moment to answer her before saying, "I'll take care of you love." They then crushed their lips to each others at the same time at that point and were holding on to each other tightly until they needed to breathe and he was relieved to watch his wife proceed down his chest, kissing here and there before she turned. "Wait," he suddenly told her before she could do so fully.

Beckett looked back to him and watched as he sat up before she took his heavy kiss while he reached for her at the same time and then pulled on the straps of her negligee. Once they were off her shoulders she moved away from him and then slid her arms out so she could push the fabric down off her breasts. Tilting her head back as he leaned to her neck to press a few kisses against it she then made him stop before making him lay back down. Their lips brushed together while his hands cupped her breasts and she tried not to shudder to hard at the sensation before she went back to what she'd been doing before he stopped her. She had been about to ask him if he wanted her to keep the lingerie on but since had her answer she turned back around and lowered herself onto him so she was laying on his lower body. Gently she took his erection with her hand but instead of satisfying herself by touching it she instead lowered her mouth over the very tip of him.

Exhaling hard before he could lean up and touch her sex as he was could tell she was aroused herself Castle felt her tremble a little on him and he tried to fight the pleasure she was giving him as she laved her tongue around him. Finally he was able to do so enough to lean forward and began to flick his tongue over her folds before he went to her clit. Hearing her crying out slightly he smiled momentarily and then proceeded to work a little harder on her before he felt himself slipping back into her mouth yet again.

Trying her best to still work on her husband while he was doing the same to her Beckett had to stop a few times, pulling away to cry out and breathe heavily. Once she felt that she could pleasure him without stopping she proceeded to work over him in a steady rhythm. As she'd been stalled doing so before she could tell that Castle was enjoying it as he was groaning into her sex. She tried her best to withstand him as he went back to running his tongue over her though she was a little frustrated at the way he wasn't really focusing on any one area that she was desperate for him to do. She had no idea how long they were together like that, just concentrating on pleasuring one another until finally he was pulling away from her. Reluctantly pulling away from him as he gently ran his hand over the small of her back she got up and allowed him to pull the negligee off of her before she laid back at his direction in the middle of the bed. "I feel like punching you," she told him though she wasn't serious.

"I wanted to make sure I could spend a little more time on you," Castle replied as he then proceeded to kiss his way down her body.

"Are you close?" Beckett asked. When he merely glanced up at her as his lips were brushing gently against her scar she shuddered for a moment as she knew from that look that he had been and he'd wanted to her to get off first. Relaxing on the pillows under her head she watched him descend down to her sex and she couldn't help the satisfied sigh that escaped her as his tongue seemed to seek her clit hungrily. Arching her back as the jolts of pleasure that hit her continued with every sweep of his tongue she reached down with one hand to slide her fingers through his hair.

Trying not to focus too much on the way her nails felt raking over his scalp Castle took her legs and moved them so they were over his shoulders. Putting his arms around them he held her in place before he started to run his fingers over her clit. With that taken care of he then moved down to her folds, gently lapping at them at first as Beckett gasped and writhed a little above him while he held her very firmly in place. Finally he allowed himself to slip his tongue into her and held back a groan at the taste of her arousal that flooded his mouth. Forgetting himself; or attempting to; he set to work pushing her over the edge as the rush of her on his senses was letting him know that it was no dream.

Holding onto the bed next to her with her other hand Beckett was clutching at it tightly and flexing her fingers almost in the same rhythm her husband was working over her. She lost all track of time though she hadn't wanted to, since she was intent on pleasuring her husband, and when she felt everything building up in her to the point where she couldn't stop it she called out a warning. She only had a second to do that as suddenly she was orgasming, arching her back roughly and crying out loudly as wave after wave of heat and what seemed to be pure electricity was racking her body. But the ecstasy was intense as well so when she finally stopped she lay a little limply on the bed, a small smile on her face that she really couldn't help.

Watching her Castle moved up to lie next to her before he gently stroked her hair and pressed his lips along her shoulder. He was trying not to lose control of himself and just get on top of her since he had already thought of how they'd be the first time they'd made love and he wanted to stick to that. Luckily his wife was beginning to recover soon after and he looked at her when she stopped his hand. "You okay?" he asked.

Smiling Beckett said, "Yes, lay down." She wasn't surprised when his eyes widened at her tone of voice and she leaned down, kissing him gently on the lips before helping him do as she'd commanded. There was a part of her that was tempted to tease him a little but decided that had been done to him enough already. So very quickly she moved her lips in a line straight to his erection. Once there she then lowered her mouth around him and proceeded to pleasure him, keeping a faster rhythm as she knew how long he'd held off his own release.

Castle was groaning his wife's name repeatedly and a few other things he wasn't really ashamed to tell her; namely that he'd been waiting forever to have her again. He wasn't sure she was listening to him but didn't really care if she did as he was becoming a little inundated with pleasure. He breathed out heavily at the sensation of her mouth moving faster around him and he tried to last just slightly longer as he desperately wanted to feel her. But when her hand came up to him and started caressing he hissed and then pressed his head back against the pillows before he was calling out her name. Nearly yelling it to her in his orgasm he wasn't sure how long he was doing that, only that he was luckily not moving too much against her and through all that still feeling her around him.

When he'd finally calmed down Beckett pulled away and then slid up to his side, laying against it before pressing her cheek to his shoulder. "Better?" she asked him.

"For now," Castle said. "One of these days I should let you do that first for me." He knew that she was looking at him questioningly though he couldn't see her and he explained, "I come too fast when I'm second."

Beckett couldn't help smile at that and told him, "It doesn't matter when we're employing oral or manual techniques." She raised her head and placed it on her hand as her other began running the fingertips along his lower lip and she added, "Our endurance is with our lovemaking."

"Great," Castle said before he hesitated slightly. When she looked over at him he said, "I wanted to say let's go ahead and test that out now but I don't think I'm there yet." When she lay down again he wrapped his arm around her and held her close before saying, "Something I wanted to ask you about."

"Okay," Beckett said, knowing that was a question and not just a statement.

"What was Patrick talking about at dinner when he was talking about Eliza?" Castle said.

Beckett took a moment to recall what her friend had said and then said with a smile, "Do you remember how I told you I'd gone to one of your book signings?"

"Yeah," Castle replied, wondering where she was going with that.

"He went with me," Beckett said. When Castle looked at her questioningly she explained, "It was right before he came back here."

"Right but what does Eliza have to do with that?" Castle asked.

"He'd never seen your picture before; remember he said he didn't start reading your books until Nikki Heat," Beckett reminded him. When he nodded she then smiled slightly in embarrassment but pushed herself to tell him, unable to help recall what had happened when they'd left the bookstore together all those years before.

* * *

 _"Well, you were close," Darnley said to Beckett once they were on the sidewalk. "Come on and I'll get us some coffee." As they were walking away from the bookstore he asked his friend, "You wouldn't want to go back and wait for him to come out?"_

 _Giving her friend a look Beckett replied, "Why would I want to?"_

 _"The way you were trying to look over at him and be circumspect about it," Darnley replied. "Let me see the book," he then told her, taking it out of her arms. He turned it over to look at the picture of the author and said, "This is him?"_

 _"That's Richard Castle," Beckett said, glancing down at the photo herself. She glanced back up at Darnley when he gave a loud whistle and asked, "What?"_

 _"I didn't know he looked like that," Darnley replied. "No wonder you had us wait for nearly two hours."_

 _"That's not the reason why I went," Beckett replied, rolling her eyes slightly._

 _"Of course not," Darnley replied. "But you know with those eyes and yours…"_

 _"Patrick I'm not going to date the guy," Beckett said._

 _"Still if you did, imagine the way your kids would look!" Darnley exclaimed._

 _"Come on, maybe we need something stronger for you," Beckett said as she rolled her eyes and took the book back from him._

* * *

"He really said all of that?" Castle said in surprise.

"He did," Beckett said with a smile. "Though honestly he didn't think I would end up with you in any way."

"So that's what he was talking about," Castle replied. When he saw his wife was looking at him questioningly he explained, "Yesterday while I was eating dinner with just him and Trevor he mentioned the fact I was your husband blew his mind."

"I think he meant the fact that he didn't think I would in fact get married," Beckett told him.

"So he knew you well," Castle replied, reaching up and running his hand over her shoulder before sliding down to the small of her back.

"He did, I think what we had hanging on us made us close," Beckett said thoughtfully. "His sexuality and my mother."

"Too bad he couldn't have stayed in the city," Castle said.

"He wanted to go home to where his family was," Beckett said, lying back down again.

Castle didn't say anything then as he'd seen the troubled look on his wife's face, instead just held onto her tightly before he then pressed his lips to her forehead. They lay in silence for some time then until he finally said, "He's happy now."

"He is," Beckett murmured. She then looked at him again and said, "I'm sure he's talked or is talking about this with Trevor in regards to me."

"It's likely," Castle agreed. He kissed her again before he pulled her closer and said, "Can I go back to when I talked to you while I was drunk?"

"Yes?" Beckett asked in slight surprise, wondering why he was saying that.

"You didn't mind I was talking to you like that?" Castle asked.

"Is that bothering you?" Beckett said. When he nodded she leaned down and gently kissed him on the lips before she pulled back and said, "You don't need to, the liquor just loosened your tongue and it wasn't offensive if that's what you're concerned about." Smiling slightly at her husband she then murmured, "I missed you that much too."

Wrapping both of his arms completely around his wife Castle kissed her back once her lips had met his own and allowed her to draw him into a duel between their tongues. He wasn't sure how long they were doing that as they kept parting and coming back together but eventually he was sitting up and grasping her by the small of her back he then laid her down where he'd been after her negligee was set aside. Once they'd parted he breathed, "I need you Kate."

With a smile Beckett drew him back down to her for another kiss before they lost themselves in numerous passionate ones that had her literally trembling as he then moved to her neck. She shivered hard when he told her he was going to finish off their night making sure she knew how serious he had been talking to her that night and she could only beg him to do that.

Pulling back to look into her eyes once he'd pressed a few kisses along her clit Castle asked her, " _This is what you want_?"

Beckett would have been surprised at that if she hadn't realized that he was giving her the choice of how they would be. And with that she soon comprehended he was going to make love to her and when she recalled what he'd told her that night four days before she breathed out, " _It's been long enough. I want to feel you love_."

Breathing out hard in pleasure Castle leaned back down to kiss her a few times before he carefully pulled away and then muttered to her, "Help me Kate."

Not even hesitating for a fraction of a second Beckett reached down and grasped his length; biting her lower lip at the feel of how rigid it was with arousal. She reached up with her other hand and gently cupped his face as together they got him just inside her when she let go. With him then sliding into her very slowly and deliberately she was so close to nearly sobbing in relief that it almost scared her. "I…" she started to say, breathing that out.

"I know," Castle said, nearly panting for air as he felt a sense of relief that he'd never felt in his life. Finally they were coupled tightly and he gasped out her name before managing to say, "I'm never touching myself again… not unless you're with me."

Beckett nearly laughed but before she could he gave his first thrust, very gentle but still deliberate, and she moaned his name out loud before moving her legs. She'd placed them around his legs at first but decided that she wanted a little more than that. As soon as she could she wrapped her right leg around his waist and groaned with him as he was sliding into her deeper. Running her fingers through his hair as he descended to her neck she could feel his lips pressing at her skin here and there, making her suddenly feel feverish. There was something very real with everything he was doing to her and she didn't think that she'd be able to last long already. "Wait," she said as he was about to go to her breasts.

At first Castle was a little confused by the fact that she was stopping him but he suddenly seemed to understand and he moved to her lips. He let her control that kiss for a while and was suddenly grateful she'd instigated that as he was able to focus more on the way their bodies felt moving together. She was highly aroused he could feel and the warmth of that was quick to affect his entire form. When they needed to breathe he told her that in a husky whisper before crushing her lips again. He wasn't sure what suddenly got into him as he seemed to snap and he moved down without giving her a chance to stop him that time.

Crying out hard Beckett was holding onto Castle the best he could as he began to suckle at her right breast. She was startled at the ferocity of his mouth as he was still very gently making love to her but then discerned what he was doing. It was so she could feel the contrast between them. He was rough at her mounds as he began to go over them both but his length was sliding through her with ease that still managed to make her heart beat rapidly in response. She tried to get him to come up to her to kiss him again but instead he stayed where he was. Her eyes rolled a little as his right hand suddenly slipped in between them and she gasped his name almost deliriously as he fondled her clit the best he could between them. At that her legs wrapped tightly around his waist and she moved with him though she forgot she could too easily crush his hand.

Not caring that that was happening in the slightest Castle finally let her drag him up to her face where he let her initiate the kiss though he'd wanted to wait for just a moment. Before he could stop it though he was enticed by her tongue to slip his own within her mouth. His heart thudding heavily in his chest he remembered the times when he'd thought of simply kissing his wife. His imagination was still not that good with conjuring Beckett and he suddenly had to tell her. But he couldn't stop as she wasn't allowing him to and he went with her unspoken command eagerly. Finally they had no choice but to part to breathe and he told her what he'd thought as he then put his hands on either side of her and began to move a little more roughly against her.

"I… neither could I… even the tablet didn't help!" Beckett gasped after what he'd told her. She was suddenly taken aback when he flipped them around abruptly and she hurried to situate herself comfortably on her knees for him. They had of course stopped and she felt the echo of him moving in her; amazing her since they'd been so slow; but she wasn't about to argue with what she was feeling only wanting more. She told Castle that and then said, "I'm very selfish."

"I think you are," Castle said, his hand firmly on the small of her back as he reached down with the other to rub at her clit. As she tilted her head back he was pleased when she started to move again, slowly, and they thrust eagerly soon getting their pace set down as one. He watched where their bodies were joined and found himself breathless at the sight of it, murmuring something in Irish that he wasn't sure she'd heard.

Since there was little noise in the room except some groans and softer grunts from Castle and some gasps and sighs from her own mouth Beckett had easily heard what he'd said. So she stopped and instead flexed her muscles around him saying, "Is this what you wanted?"

His eyes wide as he really hadn't expected her to be okay with that Castle nodded and then ran his hands around her, losing his shock as he lost himself in her. The silky smooth skin under his fingertips and the fact that it was attached to his wife made him breathe a little harder and he told her he loved her in Irish, pleased when she immediately responded. He then made her stop completely before she turned around so she was on her back again. About to ask her if she was okay with him taking her again her legs wrapped tightly around his waist and he grunted slightly before saying, "Let me worship you tonight."

"Please," Beckett outright begged as she wanted it desperately. When he moved again she held onto him with her arms and legs as hard as she could, knowing they weren't going to hold back at that point. But since they were merely making love the speed allowed them more time before they lost their self control. They kissed deeply and she allowed her husband to press his lips wherever he could on her body, making her skin literally tingle from the sensation. She scratched at his scalp very deliberately to give him a little difference in sensation that time while they were frantically kissing and then moved her hands to hold onto his back. She trembled outright at the sensation of the muscles there working so obviously to pleasure her that she sighed to him after she'd moved away from his lips, "I'm… I'm going to come…" to warn him.

"Then come for me love, I want to feel you," Castle said, unsure why he wasn't stammering through the words but deciding to just leave that fact be. "It's been too fucking long and I don't want to stop. I need you even more. _Come now_ Kate, _now_ ," commanding her at the end as he couldn't take it any longer.

At that Beckett's back began to rise above to the bed since she had snapped and her orgasm took her over. But she wasn't entirely lost to the unending cycle of exhilaration that made her body burn, managing to call out to him, "Oh god Rick I love you! I can't stop this I hated not having you! Please, let me have you again, I want to feel you… inside me… Please Rick!" She was a little startled when he suddenly joined her and started to thrust roughly inside of her to her joy, hearing him then yelling to her as she ran her hands around his back and head.

"Kate, love… I can't… I can't stop, I need you… Let me… have you… I want to fuck you and make you beg me, call my name. _Fuck_ Kate, _I adore you_!" Castle was saying to her. He felt her appreciation for those words in the way she joined him in moving faster and he was surprised when they didn't end up climaxing a second time. He wasn't sure when she stopped but she was abruptly still underneath him and he let himself thrust a few more times as hard as he could until his body literally gave out. Slumping a bit onto her he kissed her deeply; unsure of what else he could do in that moment with the excitement from the bout still running through him.

Beckett smiled when she felt a little stronger and their lips weren't locked together tightly and then said, "Did you mean what you said?"

"Of course," Castle replied. "Do you want to start?" he asked. When his wife merely told him to get onto his back he moved them so she was above him. He then watched her stretch her arms above her head, swallowing roughly as he watched her intently to eagerly await whatever she had in mind for them next.

"Do you want me to put that back on?" Beckett asked him, nodding to her nightstand and to her negligee.

"No," Castle said, his eyes on her hand which was reaching down to the apex of her legs. "What do you want me to do?"

"Nothing, since you're already set," Beckett said with a slight smirk.

"Yeah…" Castle breathed out, watching her beginning to finger her clit. He watched her smile slip off of her face before a moan left her mouth and shuddered inwardly at how arousing she was in that moment. It had nothing to do with the fact that she was moving a little around him in her pleasure but more the visual she provided. He had no idea if she had intended him to remain down on the bed but he couldn't go along with that idea, sitting up rapidly and wrapping his arm around her as he grabbed her hand with his right. Kissing her fervently he felt her very quickly responding and he grunted hard enough to break them apart when she started to rock her hips. "You're-" he began.

"I lied, I was ready," Beckett murmured, smiling for a brief moment as she then started to bounce on him, their hips slapping together noisily. She wrapped her arms around his neck then, crying out in pleasure at the sensation before he was kissing around the right side of her neck once her hair was out of the way. That time she didn't try to restrict herself, moving as hard as she could which she very quickly felt Castle responding to and doing so himself. She was a little tempted to get him to lay her down but she got an idea that she set aside for a bit later as she then felt him starting to trail a burning path to her breasts. A little startled when he pulled away slightly she got her answer as to why he did that when he cupped her breasts gently in his hands. Breathing out a little harder as he proceeded to fondle them she reached down to cover them before her hands cupped his face.

That was all Castle needed before he let go of her and then bent his head, suckling at her left breast hungrily. When Beckett pressed hard against him and gasped out his name he had to hold her by her hips as she was losing her rhythm and their skin was slapping together a little discordantly. As soon as he had her back to where they'd been he continued working over each mound before he carefully pulled away and kissed her. With that he could feel the friction between them a little more intently and he couldn't stay far from his wife as their lips kept coming back together.

Stroking around her husband's head and back Beckett was trying not to allow herself to fall over the edge too quickly. Their lovemaking had eased up that urge slightly but it was still difficult when he was filling her with a myriad of sensations that were hard to fight. They remained as they were, with him going to her breasts and neck every so often, before she stopped and pressed hard against him to make him do the same. "I want something different," she told him.

"You do?" Castle asked, slightly startled as he'd really thought they'd end things in the same position which they didn't usually do. When she nodded and murmured into his ear before nipping at the lobe he shook hard once before saying, "You're going to kill me."

"Hmm, while you make me pass out," Beckett said. "Come on Rick," she said as seductively as she could while she was getting off of him. "Show me how much you want to worship me," she added, trailing her fingertips along his jaw as she moved.

Castle was sure that he had just stopped breathing at the way she looked at that moment and he somehow managed to gasp out to her, "Is this a dream?" When she looked amused and then kissed him deeply he had his answer and in his relief that it wasn't his overactive mind he wrapped his arms around her as he held onto her desperately. He tried his best to ignore the way his erection was throbbing and just kissed her for as long as he possibly could until they had to breathe. Once they'd parted he was about to go for her neck when she stopped him. "Are you sure?" he asked.

Pressing her lips against his gently Beckett murmured, "Of course, just wait for me to come to before you get off alright?" When he nodded, eyes wide, she couldn't help smiling a little before she turned and then got onto her hands and knees. She wasn't surprised when her husband tried to touch her to go onto her stomach but she slapped his hand away before she felt him moving behind her. She didn't bother to try and brace herself for him, instead cried out heavily in pleasure and allowed her upper body to fall to the bed as he rammed into her. About to tell him not to hold back she soon found she didn't need to bother to say it as he wasn't. Soon feeling him searching for her g-spot she gasped out his name as an explosion hit her the second he reached it. Knowing she didn't have long left she then told him what she was feeling in her pleasure until the point came a few thrusts later when everything completely overwhelmed her and she was lost. The ecstasy of that instant when she proceeded to orgasm was too much to take and a second later everything went dark while her body continued to climax.

Before she could fall to the bed Castle was reluctantly pulling out of her and laying her on her back. He couldn't stop himself, touching her sex and shaking at how it was trying to take him though he was nowhere near her. He kissed her temple as a distraction for himself from his ceased pleasure and watched her carefully to see when she would wake up. "Hey," he said with a slight smile when her eyes started to flutter open a few minutes later.

"Hmm… come here," Beckett replied, the satisfaction she'd woken up to intense pleasure. But she knew her husband had to be in pain so she began to pull him to her to get him on top of her when he stopped her. "What?" she asked before he was sitting up. The second she was straddling him she assisted him in getting his member back inside her and she was soon on him murmured, "You dreamt of this… didn't you?"

"Yes," Castle groaned as he knew he couldn't wait for her to gather her pleasure to match him. "Kate… I can't… you feel too… good," he then said huskily before he then began to orgasm himself, losing himself in the almost relief of the moment.

Beckett was surprised that Castle wasn't aware that she'd angled her own body down on him so her clit was rubbing against him. So she was shortly falling over the edge after him, digging her nails into his skin as she called his name that mixed with his calling her own. She had no idea how long exactly they were like that, moving wildly and giving each other everything that was the result of what their pleasure was. All she knew was that she was moving and then suddenly not, holding onto her husband as tightly as he could as he thrust into her a few more times before he stopped as well. " _Rick_ ," she whispered once before lifting her head and meeting him in a kiss.

Running his hands all around her back Castle rolled his tongue around her mouth repeatedly before he pulled away. "God I missed this," he said as she pressed her forehead against his.

"Me too," Beckett told him with a smile. She nuzzled her lips against his and said, "At some point I want you to tell me what you dreamt about."

"Are you sure?" Castle asked teasingly.

"Yes," Beckett said before she leaned down to kiss him again. She wanted to move on him but he was holding onto her hips so she sighed and said, "What?"

"What do you think about taking a bath?" Castle asked her.

Kissing him Beckett gave him her answer with a smile before she got off of him; reluctantly; and then waited for him to slide off the bed before she followed him. She was about to grab her robe in passing but her husband was taking her hand so she left it where it was. Once they were next to the tub she watched him fill it and asked, "Did you ever use this?"

"Just the shower," Castle replied. "I never took a bath in any of the hotels I was in… didn't really want to." Since there was still some time for the water to fill the tub he looked up at her and watched her gather her hair into a bun.

"I can see you Rick," Beckett told him teasingly as she saw where his eyes narrowed on her breasts. When she finished she then went to sit on his lap and kissed him gently on the lips before pulling away and murmuring, "Why did you stop?"

"I could feel how damp your skin was," Castle said. "I thought you might enjoy this."

"I will," Beckett said, kissing him deeply that time. Since by the time they parted the tub was nearly full she turned off the water and got off of him while he still seemed to be recovering from the kiss. Luckily he soon got up and slipped into the water before she was following him. Instead of pressing her back against his chest she sat on her knees in between his legs, kissing him deeply as her arms went around his neck tightly. She was pleased when he responded to her immediately and she felt the water on her back while he was running his hands all around her.

Castle had to wonder if he was going to need to drain the water slightly as they didn't stop kissing though soon his wife was pulling away and pressing her lips all around his face. He grunted slightly while she did that, with each kiss, and when she finally stopped he looked up at her and said, "Now I can tell you missed me."

"You couldn't tell before when I was riding you?" Beckett asked teasingly.

Shuddering heavily Castle then said, "Hopefully you could tell when I was fucking you."

"Oh don't worry, I did," Beckett said, kissing him gently that time. She allowed him to raise her above him, slightly surprised when he hesitated. "What do you want?" she asked as he didn't move for some time.

Finally Castle ignored his desire to sit on the ledge behind him and then slid his wife down on him. Breathing out he said, "Think we could try it?"

"We can," Beckett said, knowing he was referring to tantric sex. "But it's not going to work."

"Still," Castle said. "But let's try not to take the water out, these are nice floors."

Beckett smiled and rolled her eyes before she leaned over and kissed him again, feeling him holding onto her back again with wet hands. She tangled with his tongue in his mouth before moving to her own and feeling him follow her. She gently flexed her muscles around his erection but only four times in quick succession before stopping. She got an idea then and pulled away from him before she ended up saying at the same time as him, "We'll finish on the bed."

Castle shared a smile with her before he pushed gently on her back to bring her to him so their lips could meet. They then lost all control of themselves and he felt a thrill as they were clutching at each other tightly and desperately though they tried their best to not move their bodies. He wasn't sure how they were able to do that but soon they were stopping and he smiled again saying, "Should we relax?"

"Of course," Beckett replied before she watched him lean back against the tub. She remained where she was; as she usually did when they were trying that in the bath; and looked down at him as he'd begun to run his hands over her waist. "How much longer?" she suddenly asked him when he started to pick up some of the water to run over her breasts.

"In a second," Castle replied before he pushed himself back up and startled to fervently suckle at her right nipple. He felt her holding onto him tightly while he was doing that and grunted slightly when her fingers slid through his hair deliberately. He allowed himself some time where he was to go over both mounds until finally he broke away.

"Great," Beckett said in relief as she got off of him. There was little surprise when he tried to stop her so she told him firmly, "I'm not letting you carry me out there."

"Come on…" Castle pretended to whine. He wasn't surprised when his wife didn't respond to that, instead went over to get a towel before he followed. Drying himself off he watched Beckett until he was dry enough and he tossed the towel aside before going to her. When she didn't cry out in response to him picking her up he knew she was expecting that so he took her out to the bed and threw her down before she grabbed at him. With her permission in the way she touched him he took her left leg and wrapped it around him under his arm while the other went around his waist. Set he sank into her to their pleasured groans and then started to outright slam his body against hers, his mind very focused on doing that each and every time he slid into her body. He was breathing heavily soon after that as it took a great deal of energy but was soon distracted as Beckett was drawing him down to her.

Kissing roughly, then gently before slipping back into passionate, Castle and Beckett found their nearly mutual climax very shortly after that and she came first, crying out his name in absolute joy before he joined her and was yelling her name. As they held onto each other tightly while riding out the remainder of their ecstasy they were kissing again and it wasn't until they were both slumped on the bed that they allowed themselves to relax.

Castle moved first of them both, sliding away from his wife gently before he kissed her lightly on the shoulder and then lay next to her. "I thought about what it would be like tonight," he told her.

"I don't blame you," Beckett said. She smiled when he glanced at her and she said, "I thought about it too, my imagination never was that good."

"Mine wasn't either apparently," Castle told her. "I never expected it to be like this. But believe me when I say I'm really glad I was wrong."

Beckett was pressed against his side and she smiled slightly as he raised his other arm not around her to place his hand under his head. "I'm interested in seeing the rest of your journal," she then told him.

Looking at her Castle then said, "You could read the second entry, it's not that long."

Pressing a kiss to his cheek Beckett turned over to grab the book and she moved to sit on her knees next to him when she saw that he'd sat up against his propped up pillows. Setting down the journal she then leaned down and kissed him hard before they slowly parted and she said, "I love you Rick. I'll say it again I'm so glad I came."

Thinking for a moment if he wanted to take that Castle finally said, "I love you too Kate. And of course I'm really happy you're here. Read it, it's not that great but I explain why."

Turning her attention to it, Beckett began to read, skipping over her name at the beginning, " _Second night out and things haven't gotten any better, that song luckily helped me sleep and I was able to get some rest but my dreams didn't help_."

 _Don't get me wrong, they were amazing dreams, you were amazing and perfection in them, but I was aching when I woke up. So now I'm finally here in my room alone I'm thinking about you. I don't think I'm really going to write much right now. I'm tired and… aroused, heavily aroused and I want to take care of myself so I won't scare you once we talk._

 _But I miss you and I could write that a hundred times here and still couldn't relate how much I do. I'm going to go, thinking about you already I can't really write._

Looking at her husband then with a smile Beckett kissed him hard but briefly and then pushed on him until he got out of the way for her to lie down. "I think I got how much you missed me," she told him as he moved quickly to lay down on her. "But for now," she said seductively as she ran her fingers along his arm up to his shoulder. "Show me something we did in your dreams." Before he could move to start that she then held him by the shoulder and said teasingly, "Show me everything you can the rest of the night; we have plenty of time."

"Whatever you want my love," Castle said huskily as he was more than a little turned on by her instructions.

With that they proceeded to make love, forgetting everything else except their coming together after so long apart. They took all the time they could get to reacquaint themselves with one another while they were literally using the positions he had dreamt them in. Their whispers of I love you were said feverishly and repeatedly as time slipped them into the next day without either caring or noticing as they exerted themselves fervently and industriously.


	12. Change It Round

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: Great getting the feedback for the last chapter so I'll get to my thank yous right away! TORONTOSUN (Nice to see you liked the moment that Martha had with the girls, will have to see when I can write more moments like that in. Very happy that you like the journal that Castle wrote and how it's showing more about how Castle feels about Beckett which was why I had him do that), Guest (It was so great to read your reaction to the love scenes in the last chapter, especially that you thought they were hot since I want them to be that of course, lol. And I'm happy to see you liked the journal entries too, had been hoping that readers would think that. And it was nice that you think I write sexy and loving scenes between Castle and Beckett. That's the only way I can image them really, I see it as more of two halves coming together and not just the physical aspect that sex is. There are emotions there and for them they're gonna be very strong so you got exactly what I was doing there and what I always try to do with them. And I really hope you'll enjoy the series as you go through my past stories and see what I had going on there! Don't worry; I know people can be very busy reviewing so when I say I appreciate the time taken to write them know that I mean it definitely. And I can see the readers so I'm happy to know that too! Also hope the song titles will be interesting, lol, to be honest I wanted to use them to kinda show people who weren't aware of the awesome writing abilities of the four Beatles in their solo works and maybe be interested to check them out if it went that far. But then I took from more places, lol, just songs I love and speak to me so I'll keep using them. You're welcome again for sharing and don't worry, my stories will always be Caskett and their family!), vetgirlmx (Great that you thought the last chapter was pretty good! And yep, they had their proper welcome as you said, lol. Really happy you loved the dinner they had and you're right, they're expanding their circle of friend which was what I had in mind… well, showing them doing that with the dinner anyway, lol. I'm so glad to read that you're hoping Patrick will stay close with them now they've gotten back in touch again. Oh and so happy you liked the girls meeting Patrick; also Maddy; over the TV and want to see them meeting in person now! And yeah, I wanted to show that Beckett did have a friend in the Academy to keep her from getting too, too serious so definitely want to show how close they were so I can tell you now there will be more flashbacks. So of course I'm really pleased you like the flashbacks with them! Great you can't wait to see what happens next and now you don't need to!) and MichelleBell16 (Don't worry; I can definitely understand getting sucked in by the Olympics as that happened to me as well, lol. But now I'm ready for Tokyo since I wrote about Castle and Beckett's trip there not too long ago, lol, though that's four years from now. Anyways great you're enjoying the story so far with all its twists as you said. And really happy you're enjoying Patrick being in the story and also his family. It's also great that you to want to see the girls meeting them. Great that you can't wait for more and now you don't need to!). Thanks so much to all of you for your reviews, loved reading them all and I appreciate the time taken to write them out and send them to me!

A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _Paperback Writer_ by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, from The Beatles' album _Past Masters Volume 2_.

Change It Round

Shifting slightly Beckett turned her head and opened her eyes to find herself pressing her cheek to her husband's shoulder. Her memory of the night before was quick to come back to her and she couldn't help smiling widely as she carefully rolled onto her back while Castle turned onto his other side. She had lost count of how many times they'd been together and didn't care in the slightest. They'd had a lot to catch up on and she had to admit they'd made a good start.

As she realized she could still feel him Beckett's right hand started to slide down her body before she comprehended what she was doing. But she couldn't ignore the touch of her fingers to her clit and she shuddered, wondering how it had gotten so swollen. As far as she knew she hadn't dreamt the night before, too exhausted for that. But she decided it didn't matter as she indulged in a few strokes against the engorged nub. When her husband rolled onto his back suddenly she stopped, watching him to see if he'd woken up. But when he only put one of his hands under his head she raised her head slightly before she made a decision.

Slipping out from under the covers she went over to where his clothes from the day before were, taking his shirt and putting it on. Dressed enough Beckett went to the window in front of the chez lounge and parted the curtain enough to see the marina outside. Surprised at the sight of the blue sky she heard Castle moving around again and turned back to see him on his side, facing where she would be. Walking around the bed she hesitated once she got to the side of it, keeping a very close eye on her husband until she made a decision.

Back under the covers it was incredibly warm and Beckett smiled as Castle mumbled something she couldn't make out under his breath before she slipped her hand underneath. Breathing out hard at the feel of his erection once she had a grip of it she studied his face and could tell that his eyes were moving back and forth hurriedly which made her wonder what exactly he was seeing in his dreams at that moment. An idea struck her that made her pause in her very careful stroking of him and she bit hard at her lower lip before she decided to go ahead with it.

But before Beckett could get onto her husband she was startled when he flipped onto his back and let him go momentarily before she smiled and then leaned down. Brushing her lips along his she murmured his name and said, "Rick?"

Groaning slightly Castle tried to go back to sleep when he felt what had woken him up wasn't stopping, she was stroking at him. Finally he gave up and opened his eyes to find his wife lowering her head around him. "W-wait!" he exclaimed. But he wasn't quick enough and she had engulfed the tip of him with her mouth. Hissing heavily he touched the back of her head, trying to get her to stop without physically pulling her away. "Kate… stop, please," he panted finally after she passed a few strokes around him entirely with her mouth and tongue.

Doing so immediately Beckett gave a mock suffering sigh and told him teasingly, "You never let me have-"

Before she could finish that Castle had pushed himself up and wrapped his arms around her to bring her to him so he could crush his lips against hers. He let himself get a little lost in her for as long as it was possible to do so and then slowly, carefully pulled away. He couldn't help smiling as she took a little longer to open her eyes and he then pressed his forehead against hers. "Morning," he said.

"Morning," Beckett replied. "I was going to try," she then told him.

"I know thanks," Castle said. He was surprised when she laughed and then asked, "What is it?"

"Only you would thank me for something that didn't happen," Beckett said before she leaned over and gently kissed him before they mutually deepened it as she wrapped her arms around him tightly.

When they were about to part Castle couldn't help himself and leaned into her again, though that time he only briefly kissed her. They parted and he did the same thing with her leaning into him as well. After they'd done that a few more times he smiled slightly and said, "Hard to resist."

"Now that we have the opportunity for it," Beckett said before his head suddenly shot down to look at her. "What?" she asked.

"Is that my shirt?" Castle asked.

"It is," Beckett said simply.

Letting himself shudder visibly Castle then said, "What happened the morning after I was drunk?"

Smiling Beckett told him, "I wanted you."

"That's it?" Castle asked when she didn't say anything else.

"It's not enough?" Beckett replied, smiling again.

"It is," Castle said quickly. He then reached up to her and unbuttoned the only one that was there and let it fall open slightly before he looked up at her. He cupped her face and then pulled her to him to kiss her deeply again. He was a little surprised when she grabbed his wrists before pulling his hands down to her breasts. But he was able to recover from that quickly and at first started to caress the mounds through his shirt.

Beckett was frustrated for a moment but it was hard to deny she wasn't feeling anything as he then focused on her nipples. The caress of the fabric between them was enough of a stimulation for her to enjoy it greatly. When he pulled away from their second kiss she was a little frustrated but as he laid her down on the bed she decided she didn't really need to be since he was almost instantly leaning down to her.

Pressing his lips along her neck Castle alternated between kissing and then sliding over her skin before he moved to in between her breasts. He heard the slight gasp from her as he began to kiss around her scar and soon felt her hand on the back of his head. He kissed at the skin a few times before he moved to her right breast. As she moved against him he reached down with his other hand to hold her down before he moved to her other breast. Sucking gently at it he did his best to not spend too much time there before he pulled away so he could kiss her on the lips. While he was doing that he was startled when she wrapped her legs around his waist but got the idea of what she wanted, more so when he could feel the extent of her arousal.

Moving away from their kiss Beckett said to him, "Hurry," before she reached between them to help him slide into her.

"Do you want-" Castle started to say.

"No," Beckett told him quickly. "I just wanted you here again!" she exclaimed at the end when he thrust into her hard to bring their hips against each other. With him fully inside of her she was breathing hard and said, "You can fuck me Rick."

"Are you sure?" Castle asked though he was straining to keep himself from moving.

"Yes," Beckett breathed out. When he then gave a thrust in her, a little hard, she gasped his name and closed her eyes tightly before he moved at a steady pace and one that was rough. Though she'd been with him repeatedly the night before she was already enjoying it and feeling shocks that shot through her body, making her moan her husband's name repeatedly before his lips crushed hers hard. The pressure of his mouth to hers and the friction already being generated between them was strong and she became afraid that he was going to get her off too soon. "Rick…" she started to say to try and warn him.

"I know," Castle breathed to her as he was reaching up to begin stroking her breast. "But… I-I'll take care of you…"

"I want to do the same," Beckett gasped as he changed his angle to her surprise. Something in her made her abruptly call out, "Stop!" and she was a little taken aback when he immediately did.

Castle was startled when Beckett pushed him off of her and though he was unsure of what she wanted to do he got off of her. He was startled again when she made him lay down on his back and he hurriedly did so, watching her drape over him before he helped her place her leg the rest of the way over both his legs. He looked on while she then just barely ran her fingertips along his member and started to breathe through clenched teeth from the sensation, the jolt of pleasure from that broken up when she paused.

Before her husband could say anything Beckett was kissing him deeply when she felt him pulling her. As soon as they parted she sat up a little to find that she was straddling his left leg. "Are you sure?" she asked, a little breathless still.

"Yeah, just… take as much time as you want," Castle replied. "I want to watch you," he explained.

Studying him; though she didn't doubt him; Beckett finally gave him a brief nod and then began to gently move against his leg. It wasn't the first time she'd done it but she always felt a little awkward since she thought she looked strange with the way she needed to angle her hips down to brush her clit against him. But he was watching her intently and also holding her by the small of her back to help her move. She began to pant a little as her exertion was making her heart begin to race before she decided she wanted a distraction.

"Ah!" Castle grunted hard as he felt her then grasp his erection tightly with her hand. "You don't-" he started to say before she was covering his mouth with her hand.

"Let me," Beckett said demandingly. When his eyes widened but he then nodded she moved her hand to reach back down on him. She then rocked against him again as she'd slowed down and was soon back to her rhythm she'd had for a brief time before. Gasping and moaning to her husband she could feel the pleasure going through her again and she said, "Do you want me to come?"

"Yes… I said I wanted, wanted to watch you," Castle told her, stammering as she suddenly slowed down against his leg and around his erection. Breathing heavily while he held her with one hand by the small of her back his other reached up and began to cup her breast. When his wife reached up with her hand and started to squeeze it he fondled her and then pushed himself up enough so he was able to take both mounds with his mouth.

Tilting her head back Beckett knew she was nearly at the end as everything was culminating too quickly for her to try and last any longer. She tilted her husband's head up to her with one hand and then leaned down, kissing him as hard as she could. That went into more but after the fourth one she was breaking apart and tilting her head back again as she cried his name, nails digging into his back while her other hand let go of his length to grab on desperately to his right thigh.

Castle found he didn't really mind that she'd let go of him as he was enthralled watching the way she looked as his name kept leaving her lips. He was tempted to kiss her, her lips enticing him before he had to hold her with both his hands as she was shaking hard around him with the last of her orgasm. When she slumped against him he kissed her deeply on the lips though only briefly before he was going crazy around her jaw and cheeks.

Her cheeks flushing slightly at the way Castle was telling her almost feverishly how much he loved her and seeing her in her ecstasy Beckett shifted a little and took him back into her. That stopped him as he groaned heavily and she let him lay her on her back before he started to move. There was no surprise when he went slowly and she kissed him that time in a way of saying thanks for the pace. Fingers gently running through his hair and nails scraping his scalp at the same time, Beckett kissed him as much as she could before they had to take a break. She caressed his cheek with her hand and said, "Why?"

" _Because I had to_ ," Castle explained, obviously struggling with himself though he didn't want her to see that. " _I wanted to watch you, feel you_ …"

Though she wanted to call him a pervert Beckett found she couldn't blame him for wanting it as it was why she'd grasped him as much as she had. She slid her right leg up along his side higher before she let her right leg spread as much as it could without letting go of him. When he slid into her again she told him, " _Fuck me again… please_ Rick _I'm ready_ …"

Heavily turned on; though he was more than sufficiently aroused already; Castle said, "I'm not." But as soon as he'd said that he was beginning to slam against her hips, hissing slightly as he struggled to hold onto his self control which took time. Luckily he could tell that time had given his wife more pleasure and he paid close attention to her while he continued to move within her. After a while he then began to kiss around her shoulders and against her collarbone before he trailed up to her ear. He murmured that he loved her before he then nibbled on the lobe before his tongue flicked out. Feeling her shudder he nearly climaxed and just managed to hold onto himself before he told her, "I can't… I can't love."

"Don't worry," Beckett told him, breathing in deeply when he started to nibble at her ear again. "I'll follow you again." She gasped when as soon as she'd spoken he was grunting hard as he started to orgasm and she held onto him even tighter as she could feel that as well as hear his reaction to it. She slid her nails through his hair before she had to abruptly grab onto his back as she was climaxing herself. She began to call his name then, repeatedly, until their voices were mixing together as well as their release. She writhed heavily, the ecstasy so great that second time around and even more so because he was with her that time. She was more aware of everything once the heavy heat of her pleasure calmed down a bit and she felt her husband's very last thrust before he nearly fell onto her. They were both panting heavily so it took her some time before she could speak and she told him, "I love you."

"I love you too Kate," Castle breathed out in satiety. He kissed her cheek and then lay on his back before he took her in his arms closely. "You know, I don't think we'll be able to make up for lost time."

"So what's your suggestion?" Beckett asked before she started to nuzzle his jaw with her lips.

"Hmm, just keep trying…" Castle began. He was a little surprised when she stopped him and asked, "What time is it?"

Reaching over to her nightstand Beckett had gone to the edge of the bed and she smiled when her husband was very quick to follow her, kissing along the back of her shoulder and then the top of it. "It's about eight thirty," she told him before turning to lie on her back as he remained on his side next to her.

Cupping her left breast gently Castle sighed and said, "We need to stop don't we?"

"We do," Beckett replied, smiling at him. She leaned up and shared a brief kiss before telling him, "I'm sorry but I promise we'll have tonight."

"Are you sure?" Castle asked though he was ecstatic for that.

"We have a lot of lost time," Beckett said before she smiled again. She leaned into him as he sat up with her and they let themselves kiss for some time before they carefully parted. "Breakfast?"

"I guess… I don't really feel like leaving here," Castle replied.

"I know but your shirt is getting uncomfortable," Beckett told him. She wasn't surprised when he hurriedly helped her get it off her arms and she watched him toss it aside. "Call," she then said very simply to him before she got off the bed.

As he was left alone in the bedroom Castle sighed but did as his wife had asked, dialing the number for room service and getting their breakfast before he went to join her in the bathroom. He took the washcloth she was using to clean off her body and took over from where she'd been running it over her sides. After getting her set he wasn't surprised when she returned the favor and they were nearly kissing for too long. A bit later; dressed and in the living room once the bedroom was somewhat straightened up; he told her as there was a knock at the door, "Think he got anything."

"It might be the commissioner," Beckett replied. She didn't continue as the employee was coming inside with their food and she waited until they were alone again to say to her husband. "She might be pushing to keep us out until-"

"Absolutely necessary," Castle said with a nod. "Yeah, I figured that too." He sat next to her at the table that was clear of his books and laptop and said, "So if we're in the clear for a little longer how'd you like to walk up to the Mall for a bit? With our phones of course."

"That would be nice," Beckett said. "But I wouldn't take my camera, not if we're going to be called in."

"Whatever you want," Castle said, making a gesture with his hand. He then leaned down and kissed her quickly before taking a drink of his orange juice and then asking her, "Okay?"

Beckett broke out instantly into a wide smile as she knew what her husband was referring to with that. "How many times," she then said to him after she'd eaten some of the pancakes he'd ordered. "Do I have to tell you that yoga's very helpful?"

"I know but I was rough, you have to admit," Castle said since that had concerned him when they'd gone to sleep finally.

"As was I," Beckett replied easily. "So I'm fine, you?"

"Fine," Castle said, studying her. When she smiled he sighed for having fallen for that and he then leaned over to kiss her again before they turned their attention back to their meal. They ate in silence until they were finished and he left her to set their tray outside in the hall.

"Nothing," Beckett said as he came into the bedroom where she was putting on her coat giving her a quizzical look. "So let's go now."

Nodding Castle threw on his coat before they left the room and he took her to see the pool before they left. Once there he told her, "I spent a lot of time here yesterday morning."

"I thought you went to the gym," Beckett replied though she smiled a little as she could see him swimming roughly back and forth, trying to work off any lingering arousal from his dreams.

"It was mostly this, that's why I showered as I still smelled like chlorine," Castle explained as they then turned to leave. "I thought it would have been a turn off."

"A little bit," Beckett said before squeezing his hand gently. When they stepped outside she followed her husband's lead over to the famous landmark and looked down it in both directions before saying, "I'm so glad we let them watch _Schoolhouse Rock_."

"Me too," Castle said, looking at the Capitol as she was. "Though I bet you anything Eliza's going to wonder where the bill is."

Beckett laughed softly at that before they started to walk in the direction of the Lincoln Memorial and said, "She would. We're taking Julia there," she then added as she nodded to it.

"She'd want to see it," Castle said with a nod, remembering again that their oldest had just finished learning about the Civil War. He then entwined his fingers with hers and said, "You've been here before you said right?"

"A couple times but the second time was for Skye's case," Beckett said, nodding her head. "The first time was with my parents on that road trip down the coast but it was a long time ago and we weren't here for too long. Just enough for the American History museum and here."

"Great we'll see more together," Castle replied. When she glanced at him he said, "You know I want to go to see Embassy Row right?" At her nod he continued and then told her, "I'm wondering if before that we walk through here, take a quick stop at the White House for a selfie to send the girls and then go to the Octagon House?"

Beckett thought about that for a moment, and to also freak her husband out, before she smiled and said, "That would be nice but please, please no equipment it's a place of history not ghosts."

Wanting to protest that Castle then thought for a moment and finally nodded before saying, "Okay."

Turning her head rapidly to look at him as they were approaching the reflecting pool Beckett asked, "Why?"

"I just thought of Julia," Castle said honestly. "She'd say the same thing though she'd really be interested in the hauntings too."

Wrapping her hand over the upper part of his arm Beckett merely smiled at that as she knew he'd realized she agreed with his statement before they reached the bottom of the monument. "When I came here there were some African American women and men in a group at the top of the stairs where the Martin Luther King Jr. quote is," she began. "They were singing a hymn together and crying; the latter unsettling me because of course I was a little too young to grasp the significance of his speech."

Watching her then smile nostalgically Castle leaned over to kiss her temple murmuring, "You don't have to continue."

"No it's okay," Beckett said, not surprised he'd realized it had something to do with her mother. "She took me to that spot after the group had moved away a little and told me to imagine hundreds of thousands of people there, spread out over the mall, here for freedom. She told me that those who were different skinned were no different from us. And Dad talked about it being just melatonin which no one can control." She then remembered something she had up until then forgotten and said, "She also told me that there were different ways people were prejudiced against others."

"Religion?" Castle asked slowly.

"Sexuality," Beckett said quickly. "I can't believe I forgot about him, my mother's friend in high school, he was outside the Stonewall Bar around the time of the riots; he was gay. She and my dad hadn't told me about him but they'd explained there were people who had to hide who they loved."

"That's likely why you were such good friends with Patrick… partially," Castle said.

"My mother's friend was murdered," Beckett said. "A hate crime when he tried flirting a bit with a man he thought was gay."

"Oh god, I'm so sorry," Castle replied.

Nodding Beckett said, "I was about… five and I remember him slightly, Aaron was his name. Luckily his killer got the maximum sentence but my mother never got over it I know. She always tried to champion those that didn't have much of a chance back then."

"She'd be proud of you," Castle told her firmly. "You've been a great friend to Patrick; who has a husband and daughter; _and you want to do everything you can for our little girl if that's who she is_."

Beckett smiled, not surprised that her husband had slipped into Irish for the end of that and she nodded once slightly before telling him, "And you, don't forget you do too."

Hugging her then Castle was very tempted to kiss her but some tourists were walking past them and he had to restrain himself as one of them stopped next to them. He tried not to groan at them asking for an autograph from them both, amused since their last book had come out some time ago. But turning to his wife once the group had left he opened his mouth to speak when the text alert of his phone rang. "It's McCann," he said as Darnley was going to contact her.

Beckett was a little startled when he groaned loudly and she asked, "Another signing?"

"On Wednesday of all days," Castle said, shaking his head in frustration. "And a party that night, oh great."

"Tell him you'll go to both," Beckett said. When her husband looked at her in a little surprise she told him with a shrug, "You need to."

"I know," Castle said as he was texting back. "At least you'll be there with me so it won't be too bad."

"I'll do my best to make you not regret it," Beckett told him. She smiled when he breathed out once, hard, at that as he realized what she was insinuating and then felt her phone shaking in her pocket. "It's Patrick," she said as she looked at the text he'd sent her. " _Another murder_ … he sent the address," she said.

"Let's get a cab," Castle said quickly as he reached out to take her hand before they went together to the nearest street at a slight jog to get to their next crime scene swiftly.

* * *

As soon as she saw her friend Beckett asked, "How fast is he killing?"

"It's been two days since the last murder," Darnley replied. "I honestly thought it was the three scenes and that was it. The commissioner is livid now."

"How much has been in the media?" Castle asked as he and Beckett followed the detective up the path to the house the Metro squad cars were all parked in front of.

"Not much, we've kept as much as we could from getting out," Darnley answered as they went into the house. "The details will very likely be key." He then led them to the stairs and said, "It's another from the site Kate."

It took Beckett a moment to think on what was left from the website and since they were going upstairs it soon came to her. "The red bedroom?"

"Yep but here we have a little deviation from the scene," Darnley said. "It's slight but-"

As they had entered the master bedroom at that moment Castle spoke saying, "It's green."

"It is," Darnley replied.

"That says a lot," Castle said, going to the wall to run his fingers over it. "It speaks volumes."

"It does," Darnley said. When he saw Beckett was looking at him he shrugged slightly and said, "He's saying everything that needs to be. But the body is in here."

Stepping into the doorway of the walk in closet Beckett nodded and said, "So a modern version of the dioramas. Who is she and what does she do?"

"Her name is Iris Waldron and she works at an insurance company," Darnley replied. "You didn't think she was a professional did you?"

When she saw her husband looking at them questioningly Beckett told him, "In the diorama she's a prostitute."

"Where is the diorama?" Castle asked. "The new one I mean."

"Here," Darnley replied, pointing over to the bathroom. His name was called then and he told them, "Go ahead and look," before he went back to the ME who was stepping away from the closet as the body followed her.

"Yeah, the attention to detail is meticulous," Castle said, looking at the picture of the actual diorama that Beckett had pulled up on her phone and was holding up for him. Looking at the diorama again he said, "Why didn't he attempt to make the room in here red?"

"It wouldn't have fit…" Beckett began before trailing off.

"Hey, the… Kate?" Darnley said as he came inside to them.

"He did make the room red," Beckett said. "Does anyone have tweezers?"

Calling to the CSU team that was already going through the room Darnley took the ones he was given and said, "He added that green wallpaper?"

"Look, he did," Beckett said. She then let the wallpaper fall back once the two men had seen the layer of red underneath. "So he didn't see her room," she said.

"Not in enough time to put the green wallpaper first since the glue is fresh," Castle said in agreement. "I wonder why he'd make that mistake."

"He's getting too full of himself," Darnley said in irritation. "But that might help us since he could slip up and make a mistake."

"So was the ME able to tell how she died?" Beckett asked since she and Castle hadn't been able to see any method of death though she already had an idea.

"Stab to the neck," Darnley answered as he led them back out into the bedroom. "From what Dr. Mansfield could tell here it appears the killer knocked her out; so likely chloroform again; and used her own hands to hold the knife to stab her."

"I'm assuming that has to do with the original diorama?" Castle asked.

"A prostitute was found dead in her closet in the room where she boarded," Darnley began. "Her landlady saw her with a client the day before she found the body but never saw him leave."

"And the client?" Castle asked.

"It says he was her boyfriend and client," Beckett pointed out with a smile to her friend. "But he claimed they got a couple bottles of whiskey, were in the room drinking when the woman got drunk and then ran into the closet with the guy's penknife. He found her like that in the closet and then left."

"Suspicious," Castle commented.

"Very and it goes with our vic here," Darnley said with a nod to the closet. "She has a boyfriend but unfortunately for our killer he's laid up in the hospital with two broken legs. If he came here and did all this… his doctor is in cahoots with him."

"Eloquent," Beckett said absently. "So it's unlikely he tried to seduce her."

"There wouldn't be a need for it," Darnley replied.

"No mention of sexual assault?" Castle asked.

"No, it was just the wounds to her neck," Beckett said. "I get the feeling he's choosing randomly since all three of your vics look different. Who found her?"

"Not a landlady I would assume," Castle said as Darnley led them out of the room and over to the stairs.

"No her boyfriend's sister as she was going to give her a ride to the hospital to go see him," the detective said. He took them down to the living room where his partner was sitting across from a young woman. "Sumner," he said gently as she stood up and came over to them.

"She said the vic and she were good friends," Sumner replied after smiling briefly and nodding at Castle and Beckett. "That's how she'd met her boyfriend. But she hadn't mentioned anything strange lately. They had gone to a bar yesterday but didn't stay for long so no one tried to talk to her; Ms. Baker would have noticed since she didn't leave her side while they were there."

"Alright, will you see that she gets wherever she needs to? I'm heading back to the station with them," Darnley explained. After Sumner nodded to them he said, "Have you had coffee yet? I haven't-"

"Detective?" a CSU team member said quietly then to get their attention. "I noticed that the flag for the mailbox was up and the mailman just got here."

Darnley went outside, knowing already that Castle and Beckett were behind him, before he reached where the postal worker was standing. "You-" he started to say.

"Do you know who Darnley, Beckett and Castle are?" the woman asked.

"Us," Castle said first in surprise.

Taking the envelope from the worker Darnley nodded when she asked if she could continue and then slit open what he held. Taking out a picture of the three of them as they'd been leaving the station the day before he flipped it over and read, " _One, two three, find me before I use her example_ … And there's a bunch of numbers here."

Taking the picture from him Beckett looked it over for a moment before she said, "Oh god, I almost forgot…"

"I know me too," Darnley replied while Castle was looking at the picture but had turned to them in obvious confusion.

"There's a diorama," Beckett said after pulling her husband all the way up to the porch of the house. "Of a three bedroom apartment where the husband, wife and baby are killed or it's a possible murder-suicide."

"You're… a baby?" Castle asked in shock.

"There's a crib and blood on the wall above it so it was shot," Darnley replied. "What about the numbers?"

"Two, five, six with huge spaces between them," Castle began to read off. "A one on its own and then a five underneath. No it's not, it's an S."

"An S?" Beckett asked in surprise. When her husband turned it to her she could see that he was right and she then said to her friend, "South?"

"No that's Dulles," Darnley replied after something seemed to come to him then. "1 Saarinen Circle, that's its address."

"And the number above it?" Castle asked.

Darnley looked down at it and then swore bitterly before he told the two angrily, "That's the address of the hangar where the NTSB will store evidence. And that's where Trev and Skye are working now."

* * *

Letting out a whistle Nkosi looked at his colleague and said, "Did you find if this was the normal company they used to make this?"

"They got back to me about that," Skye replied. "And it was not."

"Are you going to tell me who they are or are you keeping that for a big reveal?" Nkosi asked with a smile as he knew she had become focused again on the metal of the rudder where the bolts had broken off.

"Perhaps-" Skye started to say before they heard the sound of tires squealing outside. "What the bloody hell…?" she asked as she stood and set aside the scanner for the metal. They went outside with a few other workers and she said, "It's your husband… and Rick and Kate."

"Patrick?" Nkosi asked, sounding concerned. "Is Maddy-" he started to say; thinking it was their daughter; before his husband threw his arms around him.

"We were given this," Beckett explained, showing Skye the picture in an evidence bag.

At first the investigator was going to speak before she then turned it around and saw the reason why Darnley was so concerned. "So you think he's here?" she asked as she then handed the picture to Nkosi who'd been let go.

"The addresses," Darnley pointed out.

"But nothing's happened," Nkosi told them. "We've been working and we're nearly finished."

"Still, I couldn't just leave it and be told you two and someone else had been killed," Darnley said.

"It doesn't sound as if they'll kill us," Skye said quietly though they were alone by then. "More they'll actually target a family."

"I told him that but he was concerned," Beckett said. "Plus it was a lead we had to check on."

"What if it was a distraction?" Nkosi asked.

"It wasn't, Sumner's there to catch anything," Darnley said. "And she agreed that I should check into this."

"Has there been anything weird going on?" Castle asked.

Beckett glanced at him, wondering if he'd forgotten what Darnley's husband had said. But then she realized what he meant and said quickly to add to that question, "Is anyone missing?"

Skye shared a look with Nkosi and then said, "The metallurgist who was supposed to work with us today; I nearly forgot."

"His name is Hugo Churchill and he has not come in to work," Nkosi said. "She has had to check on things herself."

"I'll contact Sumner, go ahead and… take a tour or something," Darnley said. "I'll let you know if we have to go."

"A tour?" Beckett asked, not surprised her husband looked eager.

"You can step inside," Skye said. "Fairly cold today." Once they were in the hangar she said, "Here are our planes."

"It's…" Castle said before he lost his excitement when he saw the two reassembled planes; that were still being put together even then; were little more than pieces of metal. "They're…"

"It is alright," Nkosi told him. "This is what happens when you lose the rudder. We are lucky we have what we do."

"The tail?" Beckett asked. When the two investigators nodded she said, "I should say rudders. So if you have it then what're you going to do next?"

"Wrap everything up," Nkosi said simply. "So we have given you your tour."

Looking back with the others at the door leading out Castle said, "You're psychic," when Darnley stepped inside.

"No I did not think it would take very long," Nkosi replied. "Well?"

"I got his address, he hasn't been heard from since he left work yesterday," Darnley said. "Excuse me," he then yelled so his voice echoed through the building. "Has anyone seen Mr. Churchill last night at all or heard from him?"

Beckett glanced at Castle in surprise when someone in the back raised their hand and she watched Darnley walk over to him. She then looked back at both planes when she felt a hand on her arm and turned to Skye. "How's Mary?" she asked.

"Good, at the hotel at the moment having some spa treatments I bought for her," Skye said with a slight smile. She glanced at Castle when he coughed and then touched Beckett's arm again to get her attention before saying, "To thank her in a way for coming along with me."

"Though she demanded it," Beckett pointed out.

"Still," Skye said before she smiled briefly at her friend. "Are you heading over there for dinner?"

"Their house?" Beckett asked as she looked at Nkosi who turned to them after speaking.

"If you would like you can come over," the man said.

"I'd like to stay in tonight," Castle said, looking at his wife.

Glancing at him Beckett nearly started to protest but then paused and with a smile said, "That would be nice."

"We were thinking of doing the same," Skye said. "Mary and I. That's not to say we hate your company and can only stand it one night…" she directed to Nkosi.

"We would enjoy having dinner with Maddy and spending some time with her," the man said with a slight smile. "He has been busy with the case," Nkosi then said, nodding to his husband. "So it would be nice for her to play with him."

"Then we're agreed, alone time for all of the couples," Castle said.

"What?" Darnley asked, having walked back to them at that point.

"We're splitting up tonight," Beckett told him.

"Oh… right," Darnley said. "Okay, so Investigator McGuffin over there saw Churchill last night-"

"They're good friends," Skye told him. "So she would know what he might have planned last night."

"Right well they went to a bar together, _The Diplomat_ ," Darnley said, looking at his notes. "And she left him there but he had talked about feeling unwell before that point."

"I'm assuming we're going to his place?" Castle asked.

"We are," Darnley said before looking to his husband.

As her friend and his husband started to walk over to the door Beckett held on to Castle's arm at the same time Skye did on the other side of him when he began to walk after them. "Leave them," she told him.

"They're likely just going to kiss," Castle said though he remained in place. "He was worried."

"I gathered," Skye said since he'd been talking to her. " _Your plans are the same as ours aren't they_?" she asked Beckett in Russian. She wasn't surprised when her friend's cheeks flushed slightly at that and she said, " _You have a slight limp_."

" _No I don't_ ," Beckett said immediately in the same language. When Skye just looked at her knowingly she realized she'd fallen for admitting the investigator was right and said, " _Why_?"

" _Just checking to make sure you're happy down here_ ," Skye told her.

"We miss the girls but we'll see them soon," Beckett said, feeling she could go back to English there.

"Do I want to ask what you two were talking about?" Castle asked, having been looking back and forth between the two then.

"No need," Skye said. "And looks like you two need to go," she then told them as she saw Nkosi walking inside.

"Patrick is waiting for you," the man said.

Hugging Skye tightly Beckett told her, " _You have a limp too_."

Smiling at that the investigator said, " _That I do. Enjoy your dinner._ And we'll see you tomorrow."

"Are we going to see you?" Castle asked.

"Patrick and I are inviting you now," Nkosi told them. "We will head out to a restaurant; my parents will take Maddy overnight."

"Sounds like it'll be great," Castle told them.

"I'll agree," Beckett told them. "We'll see you," she said with a smile and a nod to Nkosi. She and Castle said goodbye and good luck to the two before they left and went to Darnley who was already in the car with it running. "Did Sumner tell you anything about Churchill?"

Opening his mouth to speak Darnley looked down at his phone in between them which was going off then and he nodded to Beckett who took it. "What've you got Sumner?" he asked her once she'd answered for him.


	13. Change It Round (Part 2)

"Hugo Churchill, thirty nine years old," Sumner began. "Single and unmarried. He's lived around DC since he was born and went to school at the college of William and Mary, studied chemistry. He received a doctorate in it and worked for a chemistry company before training with the NTSB which is where he is now of course. I got a hold of his contact on his information, a Nancy Williams, and she told me that there was nothing out of the ordinary going on with him lately. No problems with women and she wondered what I meant by dioramas. I think she thought I was insane."

"Alright, we might bring him as soon as we can find him and talk to him," Darnley replied.

"Are you sure he'll be at home?" Sumner asked him.

"After the story his coworker told us it sounds like he was indulging in some drink," Beckett said then.

"He'll still be in bed," Castle said. "Hopefully dressed," he muttered under his breath. When his wife looked back over her shoulder at him he merely smiled before Darnley thanked Sumner for the information and then hung up.

"He lives the next area over from where the three murders have taken place; and Jodie's attack," Darnley told them.

"How's she doing?" Castle asked.

"Still in a little pain but besides that she's fine," Darnley answered. "Alright, we're here," he said, pulling up in front of some town houses.

"Here?" Beckett said.

"Yeah, what were you expecting?" Darnley asked.

"I just thought he'd be a little further away," Beckett said.

"She's right; we're pretty close," Castle pointed out to the detective as they got out of the car.

"I know," Darnley said simply as he nodded at the same time briefly. He then led them to the townhouse that was Churchill's and motioned them away from him a bit until he knocked on the door. There was no surprise when there was no response but he did it twice more before he finally tried the door. It wasn't locked so he went back to Castle and Beckett saying to his friend, "You still pick locks?"

"You make it sound like I did it for a living," Beckett said, pretending to be angry as she held her hand out to him.

Placing the tools on her palm Darnley said, "You know no one can know about this at the station."

"I'm aware," Beckett replied easily before she took her husband's hand.

A little confused as he watched the two go up to the door together Darnley followed before he then saw Beckett turn her back to it and smile up at her husband. He froze, startled at that, and then became even more so when Castle kissed her. He was going to open his mouth to ask them what they were doing when he saw Beckett holding her index finger up to him over Castle's shoulder. It was then that he looked at her other hand and noticed it was behind her; along with one of her husband's; and he couldn't help smile as he realized what they were doing.

A slight twist of her hand with Castle's turning it to help her complete it and Beckett heard the top lock open. She then passed off the lock pick to her husband and she slid her arms over his shoulders as she then began to kiss around his ear and jaw while he got the bottom doorknob open. That didn't take too long and as soon as he'd stopped moving around behind her she slipped with him in the house before Darnley followed. She mouthed an apology to her friend and was surprised when he shook his head before he then tapped his first two fingertips against her palm. Since they'd learned Morse code together she was able to discern his message which was, ' _Interesting trick, I want story later_.' A slight smile on her face she nodded and then watched him step out of the entry and into the living room.

"Hugo Churchill," Darnley called out. "This is Metro PD; we need to speak to you."

Hearing a groan at the top of the stairs Castle nodded to it when Darnley walked over to where he'd stayed in the entry.

"Mr. Churchill, this is Detective Darnley are you alright?" the man asked. Another groan and he nodded to Castle and Beckett to follow him up to the master bedroom where he saw the man laying face down on the bed. "Mr.-" he started to say when Churchill turned over and cut himself off as he was obviously naked.

Castle turned to his wife, instinct making him start to raise his hand to block her view as he'd done before but she turned away and looked out the window near them. He was pleased she didn't attempt to try and look at the man but when he glanced back at Churchill he saw why that was, he was aroused.

"Mr. Churchill," Darnley said with a heavy sigh as he looked away from the man's state. "Mind covering yourself?"

Churchill mumbled a few words before he covered himself with his hand, rubbing it slightly before he stopped at a yell outside the room. Wincing he covered his ears before a blanket was thrown over his lap. "'s t're a 'oman there?" he slurred.

"And you've started again already," Darnley said. "Hold on," he said before he then went over to the doorway before saying, "Stay there, he nearly started to masturbate and I don't think you'll want to see that."

"Neither will he," Beckett said, matching his low tone of voice as she looked over at Castle who was rubbing his face with his hands. She reached over to take his hand and told her friend, "We'll stand at the bottom of the stairs."

"Great," Darnley said with a nod. He then waited for her to go down with Castle following and once they were out of sight he headed back to the man. He was relieved to see Churchill with the blanket still on him and he started to speak before the man cut him off.

"She's hot," Churchill said before laughing. "Bring her in, I'll talk to her."

Taking a t-shirt that was on a dresser next to him Darnley tossed it in the man's face and when the man started to swear he told Churchill, "That's my friend and she's married," angrily. "I'm not here to help you out, I need to speak to you about where the hell you were this morning."

"Riiight here," Churchill said, breathing out with a smile before he lay down.

"Is there anyone that can confirm that?" Darnley asked.

"My car's under surveillance," Churchill said.

"How're you walking?" Darnley asked.

"You see me in the camera too," Churchill said. "Talk to security. Now," he said, sitting back up as he seemed to sober slightly. "Dunno how you got in; I always lock the door; but get the hell out before I call someone to arrest your ass."

As Darnley walked over to the top of the stairs he froze when the man called out, "She can stay; tell her to come up too! I'm ready!"

"Rick," Beckett said firmly, grasping on tightly to her husband's arm as he nearly bolted up the stairs.

"Don't," Darley said, running down to him and pulling on his arm while they headed to the door. Once they were outside; after he'd kicked the door closed behind him; he said, "Calm down, I know you don't want to hear that about your wife but you don't want him to charge you."

"We have plans tonight Rick, don't let him ruin them," Beckett then said, grasping his arm tightly but not too much.

At that and his wife's calm tone Castle began to do the same and he breathed out before saying, "Sorry," to them both.

"I'm glad to see you wanting to do that," Darnley said. "Remember what we talked about." When Castle nodded he then said to both of them while he handed Beckett his keys, "Go over to my car and I'll talk to security."

Castle wasn't surprised in the slightest when his wife took him by the hand so they could go over to the detective's squad car. "Look Kate-" he started to say.

"Get inside," Beckett interrupted her with before she opened the back passenger side door. When he was inside she moved to sit herself, making him scoot over until she closed the door. When she then looked at him she wasn't surprised to see he looked surprised at her move and she told him, "I'm not mad at you."

"And?" Castle asked. When his wife just looked at him he then said a little worriedly, "But?"

"No," Beckett replied. "Just thank you but you have to watch when you get that angry."

"I know now but the tone of his voice was… irritating," Castle said through clenched teeth.

"Yes, I agree completely but remember that we're going back to the room later and we'll enjoy our time together," Beckett reminded him.

"That's a very valid point," Castle said, pretending to nod his head seriously before his wife laughed softly. He then turned to her and leaned down, kissing her gently before he pulled away. "That's the best I can do," he said.

"He's coming back?" Beckett asked. "I better get to the front seat," she said with a sigh before moving around to it.

"By the way, did he give you a message in Morse code?" Castle asked once she was in the passenger seat.

"Yep, he wants to know how and I'm assuming why we picked the lock like that," Beckett said with a smile. She then said to Darnley as he got into the car, "Got it?"

"I watched it," Darnley replied. "And had them send the clip to Sumner for evidence; he's clear as there's no backyard, just the front area, so he didn't go anywhere after two last night."

"So what now?" Castle asked him.

After he'd started the car Darnley paused for a moment and said, "We need to look at the vics, all together. And we'll just go from there." After he'd left the parking lot for the townhouses he then said, "So spill, how'd you end up working in making out when you're picking a lock and how'd you make it work."

"First the idea was his," Beckett said, gesturing to her husband in the backseat with her thumb. "As it's distracting." When Darnley; stopped at a red light; glanced at her in confusion she explained when she and Castle had been in LA and when she'd picked the lock of a house and had been caught by a woman walking by. "And as for making it work…"

"Ah," Darnley said. "I should have known."

"A lot of practice," Castle said. "How many times love did we work on our front door until we got it?"

Beckett glanced back at him before saying, "A number of times." She wasn't surprised when Darnley began to laugh but merely smiled as he drove them back to the station through some of the remainder of the morning city traffic.

* * *

Sitting down across from Castle and Beckett, Darnley said, "I still could have grabbed something fast near the station."

"You need to clear your head," Beckett replied. "You'll feel better after eating here; at least according to you."

"It's one of my favorite places to go. I usually go on Fridays though," Darnley replied with a nod. "They do some great ramen but I'm not feeling the need to slurp up my meal today. Next time."

"We'll get something," Castle said, though he didn't sound very sure of himself. "We have to; CSU didn't finish with the stores and the diorama items used yet."

Darnley nearly started to speak but then stopped himself and said with a brief shake of his head, "We should probably wait to get back to everything."

"That's true," Castle replied hurriedly. "Any reason why you decided to go today? To show us?"

"No you mentioned you're heading to Japan so I wanted to treat you," Darnley answered. "Especially you Kate since you haven't been."

"I appreciate that," Beckett replied with a slight smile. "Where have you been?"

"Oh… here and there," Darnley replied. "South Africa, Italy and Germany and that's it. He told me about your trip last summer."

"Speaking of summer," Beckett said. She looked at her husband and when he shook his head she reached over and squeezed his arm before saying to her friend, "We're getting remarried in Ireland, you and your family are invited."

"When is that?" Darnley asked.

"August seventeenth," Beckett said. "When's your anniversary?"

"June first," Darnley replied. "I'll talk about it with Trev and we'll try our best to come since I'd love to see that."

At that moment their conversation was put on pause as their food was served to them and they were quiet until they began to talk, discussing the trip to Japan. It took them through the meal as Darnley peppered Castle with numerous questions about where he'd been already in the country. Once they'd finished and were waiting for Castle's card to be brought back the detective stood up mentioning getting some coffee to take back to the station. Castle sent the two ahead of him as Beckett already knew what he'd want and they headed out on the street together to walk to the corner coffee shop.

"So really, how long were you two practicing that trick?" Patrick asked her as she looped her arm loosely through his. He smiled at that and before she could answer his question he said, "You haven't done that in a long time."

"It's been a long time since we walked through a crowded city," Beckett said with a returning smile. She then answered his question and told him, "We didn't start out kissing; we first tried to see if we could actually open the door that way."

"And then added it to it?" Darnley asked. At her nod he then said, "Nice to see you two together."

"Did you doubt I would be in love with him?" Beckett asked with a small smile.

"Just that you might still be holding yourself back still," Darnley explained.

Shaking her head Beckett said as she let go of him to open the door, "I can't do that with him, I tried for four years and it nearly destroyed me in the end."

Darnley looked at her in surprise but then hurried inside after her and as they stood in line asked her, "Wow, I didn't expect that."

Beckett shrugged, not wanting to talk about that there, and she then said, "What were you talking to Rick about when you told him to remember?"

"Earlier?" Darnley asked. When she nodded he said simply, "Ask him."

Frowning Beckett was tempted to press him to tell her but knew it was not the best time for that. So instead she looked behind them for her husband, seeing him holding the door open for a woman to walk inside. She heard her friend mutter the word, "Incredible," next to her and she fought a smile the best she could as Castle had scanned the inside of the shop until he'd found her, watching her instead of the woman who had been attractive. "Anything wrong? It took you a while," she asked once he'd reached them.

Leaning over and kissing her cheek Castle said, "I was stopped by a fan, they asked where you were."

"Did you sign a book?" Darnley asked, still amazed though he'd spent enough time around them to have a better feeling of their relationship.

"No they just wanted a hint as to the next one," Castle replied. They had to order then so he couldn't say anything else but as they were waiting he then asked, "Has Sumner called you?"

"Not yet," Darnley replied. "But she texted that the only thing she could find that linked the three vics was they hadn't registered with any political party to vote so… not sure that would help us but there you are."

"Rick," Beckett said warningly as he suddenly looked interested. "Calm down, Patrick hasn't heard you yet."

"You mean weird theories?" Darnley asked as Castle made a face. "I already heard; something about tiny aliens?"

"Hey, you never know," Castle replied. "But I knew so little about the case when he mentioned tiny scenes I thought why not."

"From what he mentioned of your guys' investigative past I presume he was saying stuff like this a lot?" Darnley asked Beckett.

"Emphasis on a lot," she said, smiling at her husband.

"I'll be right back," Darnley then told the two as their number was called. He glanced at the two briefly once he'd left them and then looked ahead again, smiling and shaking his head when he saw that Castle was taking his wife's hand.

" _We need to talk about something tonight_ ," Beckett was saying.

" _Am I in trouble_?" Castle asked, thinking he was as she was using Irish and those words. He was confused when she shook her head no and he said, " _Really_?" When all she did was give him a look he blanched slightly and then said, " _Why is he so surprised_?"

At that Beckett couldn't help smiling and she told him, " _He's never seen me like this before with a guy I was involved with_."

" _But you're_ -" Castle started to say.

" _I was never married before you_ ," Beckett said simply, slightly raising her eyebrow.

As Darnley was coming back to them Castle told her simply, " _Then we'll talk tonight_."

Taking her coffee Beckett smiled and then shook her head before she followed her friend out to the street. As they neared the station she asked him, "What now?"

"Well since we had to go through everything CSU had from the crime scenes instead of going over the vics I think we should do that ourselves," Darnley replied, opening the door so they could walk in ahead of him. "Since Sumner just took a cursory look into them."

"Why not just go over the murders entirely?" Castle asked.

"We've done that already," Darnley reminded him. "I'd like to focus on just the vics." They stepped into the elevator then and he said to them when the doors closed, "What were you speaking earlier?"

"Gaelic," Beckett told him. "Specifically Irish."

"Oh," Darnley replied. He thought for a moment and then said, "Really?"

"Yeah, why?" Castle asked.

"I thought you would have taught him Russian," Darnley said to Beckett with a smile.

"Do you still remember what I taught you?" she asked.

"Very little, there hasn't been much need for me to use it," Darnley said. The doors opened on the top floor and he told her, "But why not teach him?"

"We fell into Irish," Beckett said as they walked together to his desk. "Did he tell you where we went on our honeymoon?" When Darnley shook his head no she explained, "It was Ireland, along the west coast essentially except for where we're going to renew our vows. A place called Adare Manor."

"That would explain it but how?" Darnley asked.

"It's amazing what you can pick up from the internet," Castle said before he watched the detective's gaze go to his partner sitting at her desk in front of his.

"Did you go to lunch?" Darnley asked with a frown.

"No," Sumner said simply, looking at the papers from CSU. "There-"

"Jodie," Darnley told her, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Stop," he said firmly. "You've done everything you can for now and there are three of us to try and figure things out."

"But I-" Sumner began.

"You look pale," Darnley said frankly.

"Are you going to let me finish?" Sumner said.

"Now yes, what is it?" Darnley said.

Glancing over at Castle and Beckett who had some point had gone over to the murder board; Sumner sighed and said, "I have to go out somewhere like you did."

"That's fine, we can handle it," Darnley assured her. "If I find anything I swear to you I'll text or call. Go and eat and relax for a little." When his partner looked at him in confusion he explained, "They had me do the same."  
"Thanks for doing that," Sumner told Castle and Beckett who'd looked back to them. She sighed again and then stood up saying, "I'll be back."

"Enjoy your lunch," Darnley said. When he was sure that his partner was on the elevator he took off his coat and told the two, "Come on, we have a lot to go over."

Getting their coats as well, once they were ready, Castle said to the detective, "Your first vic?"

"We're aware of her name," Darnley began, finding the file on her. "Roe Linny who has no family she had a sister who died when she was ten and her parents are deceased as well."

"How did the sister die?" Beckett asked.

"She was in a car accident going to a store with a friend," Darnley replied. "Crashed into the Potomac at night and drowned alone with the mother of her friend."

"Was there anything unsolved about the case?" Castle said.

"No, the mother was just about intoxicated according to the autopsy," Darnley replied. "And the friend that survived moved to Finland to live with her father, she's still there."

"So nothing she was trying to look into," Castle said.

"Thinking what that her sister was murdered?" Darnley asked.

"We've come up against it before," Beckett told him. "So it was something to check on though how would the other murders go with hers?"

"Good question," Castle replied. "Now I'm wondering what about her last twenty four hours."

"That's what Sumner was doing when we left, with the last vic though so we have everyone's last day," Darnley replied. "First she went to work of course and had lunch with a coworker in the break room."

"What did they talk about?" Beckett asked immediately.

"I spoke with her coworker and the guy said they mostly talked about summer," Darnley said. "And before either of you asks we looked into him as soon as we found out who she was talking to and he has an alibi. He was with his wife."

"Are you sure?" Castle asked.

"Rick, he was _with_ his wife," Beckett said, surprised he hadn't picked up on that.

"I didn't want to assume," Castle said with a shrug to her. "Anything specific about summer that might stand out?"

"Just vacations and where they might go if they got any time off," Darnley said. "She worked from eight to four and once she left she went to the supermarket near her home."

"You did a canvas?" Beckett asked.

"Sumner went to talk to everyone there," Darnley said. "I was interviewing the coworker at her office. But she found that all Linny did was go in, pick up items readymade for dinner and then paid. She found the cashier at the register she paid at and said they just said a few normal things, hello, thank you, all of that."

"Did she notice anything unusual? The vic nervous or looking around," Castle asked though he already knew the answer to that.

"No she seemed fine," Darnley replied. "But there's one thing we discovered. She bought a chicken which they sell in different sizes."

"She bought a larger one," Beckett commented instead of asking.

"She did, enough for at least three people," Darnley said.

"You think there's a second person involved?" Castle asked.

Shaking his head the detective told the two, "Unlikely as the fibers in the buckle of her shoes were hair."

"And caught in her watch too," Beckett reminded her husband.

"I hate to say it but the accomplice could have been waiting," Castle said.

"I've thought the same," Darnley said, not surprised to see Beckett nodding in agreement with him. "But for now let's leave the number open to what we'll get from the evidence. Since only one person went after Sumner, it's highly likely that there's just one killer."

"So after she got home," Beckett began.

"Yeah, there is where we run into the unknown," Darnley said. "No real way to know if she took a direct route home, diverged or stopped to talk to someone. All we know is that she was killed at midnight; all three vics were."

"That time," Beckett said absently, looking at the picture of the three women. When she glanced back at her husband and friend she wasn't surprised to find them looking at her questioningly before she explained saying, "It smacks of someone who hasn't killed before."

"Because it's so specific?" Darnley asked.

"The witching hour," Castle said. "She's right; it's as if they want to be seen as evil, what they're projecting."

"That doesn't make much sense," Darnley told them after thinking that over for a moment.

"It has to do with a past case of ours, in NYC," Beckett explained. "A suspect was killing whoever stepped on certain streets at midnight. When we talked to him after his arrest he said he liked that time as it was a transfer and he wasn't sure what other time he was supposed to pick."

"First time killer?" Darnley asked.

"He was," Castle answered with a nod. "So the second vic?"

"Bella Roberts, thirty and as I mentioned to you before she was an invalid," Darnley said. "She inherited a large amount of money so there was no need for her to earn a living. And she had some friends, mainly the neighbors to her home's left a Mr. and Mrs. Temple."

"Who are clear," Beckett commented.

"Crystal, they're out of town in New York in fact," Darnley said. "And she was killed at midnight the day after the first vic."

"So within a day the first time-" Castle began.

"Sumner was attacked the day after the second murder," Beckett quickly said.

"I'd noticed," Darnley told them. "The commissioner's going to have officers patrol the area around the houses more frequently but I'm not sure how that'll help."

"What about her last day?" Castle asked. "Or is it hard to trace as she didn't go anywhere?"

"Exactly," Darnley said.

"What did she use to communicate with the outside world?" Beckett then said.

"Facebook and Twitter," Darnley replied. "Tech is searching her accounts still; she's had them both since the beginning of the sites so it'll take time to go through. But she posted on the first one a picture of a bird she noticed outside her home and on Twitter she just put the message, _Spring's in the air and the sun is on its way to stay_."

"Sounds like she was fine," Castle commented.

"It does but looking at her conversations on Facebook," Darnley began, showing Beckett the paper with that information on it. "There's someone I noticed."

"World Traveler?" Castle said. "Unimaginative; that could refer to Embassy Row."

"That's where the IP came from," Darnley said with a brief nod. "But via a laptop we think."

"He stole wi-fi?" Castle asked. When the detective again nodded he said, "So he's savvy."

"Which means he's probably young," Beckett said. "Around the ages of your vics."

Darnley opened her mouth to speak when Beckett's phone gave off the sound of a bird chirping and he smiled saying, "Your daughters?"

"It should be only one," Castle said. "Julia should be in school still."

Seeing the message Beckett said, "She is, Eliza wants to talk to us." She then looked up at her friend and said, "Do-"

"You know about our third vic and there really wasn't anything else for our second left to say," Darnley replied. "It's up to tech to see if they can find who hooked onto the wi-fi from the Indian Embassy. Go and talk to your daughter, I'll look into a few more things here."

Walking with Castle over to the break room Beckett was relieved to see that it was empty and she dialed Martha's number before waiting for her to answer. "Hello Eliza," she said with a smile at her husband as their youngest had answered. "How are you?"

"Good, can I see you Mommy, Daddy? Please?" the toddler asked.

"Tell Martha to press the button," Beckett said as she then pressed the one on her phone.

When he saw their daughter Castle smiled and said, "Hey sweetheart, you're sure you're okay?"

"Yeah," Eliza told them, nodding seriously. "I wanted to see you a lot. Are you working?"

"We're taking a break now to speak to you," Castle said. "But yeah we are still."

"Oh but you don't get to see anything," Eliza said.

"We will," Beckett assured her as the toddler's voice had been filled with dismay. "We just need to wait until the case is solved and we'll do what we planned to."

"What about after?" Eliza asked.

"You mean at night?" Castle asked her. When the toddler nodded he then said, "We like to relax then, like we do at home. And it's a little late too to go anywhere by the time we'll stop." He then looked thoughtful and said, "But you know what we could do?"

"What?" Eliza asked though her father was talking to her mother.

Smiling at her Castle then turned to Beckett and said, "We can go for a swim before the pool closes."

Thinking for a moment she said, "We could as soon as we talk to them and then have dinner."

"That's good," Eliza said seriously. "Are you gonna dress up?"

About to say no Beckett turned to look at her husband and when she saw his slightly interested expression she sighed; as she smiled; and said, "We could we'll have to see."

"I hope so and Jules will say the same thing too," Eliza told her firmly.

"We probably will," Castle said firmly, smiling at his wife when she looked at him. "Did you eat lunch yet?"

"Yeah Daddy," Eliza said. "I had a sammich."

"Sounds good," Castle said. "And now?"

"Played," Eliza said simply. "We are now and we are doing puzzles."

"Your daddy's right, it sounds like it's great," Beckett commented. "Are you going to your sister's class?"

"Yep, I asked Gram and she says yes," Eliza said. She then said, "From the start."

"What's she practicing today?" Castle asked his wife.

"I think the Waltz again," Beckett replied, trying to recall what Ms. Grey had said. "And then the Paso Doble."

"Yeah, Jules was excited to dance that one," Eliza said, nodding her head. "So I'll get to see but Jules will show you later."

"We know," Beckett said. She was surprised when her daughter looked a little reluctant to speak so she said to her, "What is it sweetie?"

"Did you kiss?" Eliza asked a little shyly.

"You mean yesterday?" Castle asked. He was amused when the toddler nodded her head, blushing a bit, and then told her, "We did."

"So you are happy," Eliza said firmly.

"We are," Beckett said, trying not to roll her eyes as Castle put his arm around her shoulders. "So you don't need to worry Eliza."

"I won't," the toddler said with a quick nod. She then smiled and said, "Do you have to go now?"

"In a second," Castle replied. "Let us talk to your gram okay?"

"Kay, will you talk later with Jules too?" Eliza asked.

"Of course," Beckett said.

"I can't wait," Eliza said. "And Jules says the same too."

"We can't either," Castle told her reassuringly. "Love you Eliza."

"Love you Daddy," Eliza told her. "And I love you too Mommy."

"I love you Eliza," Beckett told her with a slight smile. She then handed the phone to Castle and watched him greet his mother when she came on the screen.

"Anything wrong Richard?" Martha asked when she saw her son.

"I just wanted to check and make sure that Eliza's doing alright," Castle said, not surprised when Beckett walked over to him.

"Oh of course," Martha replied. She then realized why he'd said that and said, "She misses you both but she's doing very well. She's just concerned that you two stay together."

"Which is why she wanted to talk to us just now," Beckett said. "What made her think of us though?"

"She demanded we look at your article in _Cosmo_ again," Martha told the two. "And then decided we should call you."

"We're glad you did," Beckett said. "We'll call around-"

"Five thirty," Castle interrupted his wife. When Beckett looked at him he then said, "So Kate and I have time to go swimming."

"I don't mind," Martha said. "And I'm sure the girls won't either so we'll talk to you then. Good luck with the rest of your case."

"Thank you Mother," Castle told her. "We'll talk to you then."

After they'd said goodbye to Martha, Beckett said, "I wonder how she found where you put the magazine."

"She may have been watching me while I was putting it away," Castle said. "And Julia too. So five…" he then began to say before trailing off.

"What?" Beckett asked.

"We've been talking about the number three," Castle said.

"Right," Beckett said in confusion. But suddenly it seemed to come to her and she said, "Sumner."

"Yeah," Castle said with a nod before they turned and left the room, hurrying out to Darnley.

"Is anything wrong?" the detective said in concern as he watched the two.

"What do you know about your partner?" Beckett asked then.

"You…" Darnley started to say before he trailed off. "You're right; we should have included her too."

"Included who?" Sumner asked before the three looked at her. She was startled when the three looked at her in shock and asked, "What?"

"We need to look at you Jodie," Darnley said, bracing himself as he wasn't sure how she was going to react to that idea.

At first Sumner started to open her mouth in protest before she paused and then finally inclined her head slowly. "What should I do while you're doing that?"

"Coffee?" Castle suggested.

"I'll pass," Sumner said, making a face briefly. "I can go take the boxes back to storage."

Watching her go Darnley breathed out heavily and then said, "This is weird."

"Tell us what you know," Beckett said reassuringly.

"Okay," Darnley replied. "First off she's thirty seven and she's grown up here mostly as you heard already."

"Her mother?" Beckett asked then.

"She and her father divorced around the middle of his first term of Congress, he wasn't spending enough time with them and she wanted to stay in Boston," Darnley explained. "She's still alive, remarried and Jodie gets along with her stepfather and stepbrother."

"She's an only child besides that?" Castle said. At Darnley's nod he then asked, "Single? Dating?"

"She was married," Darnley replied. "When she was thirty she married an old college sweetheart but the guy cheated on her and got his mistress pregnant so they divorced two years later. From what she's told me it was amicable."

"Are you sure?" Beckett asked in surprise. When her friend nodded again she told him, "If it were me I would have been absolutely livid."

"I think things were beginning to fall apart before that point," Darnley said. "Her husband didn't fight too much during the proceedings."

"Meaning he didn't ask for much," Castle told his wife. "Who pays the alimony?"

"He's paying her," Darnley said. "I've never asked if he's ever late with it, it's never really been my place and it's never come up in conversation."

"There's one thing Patrick," Beckett said then. "Did you ever consider that it might be her?"

"The killer?" Darnley asked.

"I'd thought of that myself," Castle said quickly. "With the help of an accomplice."

Darnley began to say, "No-" a little angrily before he interrupted himself and then said thoughtfully, "Yeah, I'd never thought of it."

"Can you have someone check her alibi? Her financials?" Beckett said softly.

"Okay, hold on," Darnley said, turning before he came face to face with his partner. "J-Jodie," he said, stammering heavily at the sight of her.

"I had a feeling," Sumner said with a sigh. "Why?"

"Are you having any problems with your job?" Castle asked as Beckett went over to her friend and gently brought him back next to his desk.

"No there's talk of me becoming Sergeant but I'm not cut out for that," Sumner said. "I'm doing what I've wanted to for years."

"Is anyone blackmailing you for this?" Darnley asked.

"You would not have discovered a semen sample in our second vic or those fingerprints on the tub of the first vic," Sumner pointed out calmly. "But check my financials, if it will help you out."

"I'll do that but just as a formality," Darnley said.

"What about alibis?" Castle asked.

"My building has a doorman," Sumner said.

"She's right, it does," Darnley replied. "Let me make two phone calls and we'll get you cleared up."

"I'm not surprised you two thought about me," Sumner said. "Or suspected me I should say," she told them with a slight smile when she was alone with Castle and Beckett. "I would know about how to do this."

"But the one problem was the fact that you didn't know about the dioramas," Castle said. "Or else I would have suggested you sooner."

"I didn't," Sumner replied, shaking her head. "But you're good detectives."

"Oh, well thank you," Castle said, smiling.

Beckett rolled her eyes at that but smiled at the same time before she noticed that Darnley was hanging up before picking up his desk phone again. She thought of something and then said, "He told us you were divorced."

"Yeah, Ethan was… a frat boy that never wanted to grow up," Sumner replied.

"His name was Ethan?" Castle asked.

"Ethan Abernathy," Sumner said in slight confusion. "Why?"

"Why does…" Castle started to say.

"I've seen that name before," both he and Beckett said at the same time. After exchanging a look they went over to Sumner's desk and started to open her e-mail.

"You're clear Jodie, I knew it but just wanted to make sure," Darnley said before he realized his partner wasn't across from him. "Um," he said, looking at her. "What're they doing?"

"They said they've seen Ethan's name before," Sumner replied.

"Yes, on a list," Beckett said.

"No," Darnley and Sumner said in realization at the exact same time. But when the two motioned to them they walked around and saw that the name was highlighted and looking at each other ended up saying with Castle and Beckett at the same time, "We have to bring him in."


	14. As Far As Capitol Hill

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: I loved getting the feedback I did for the last chapter so let me get to my thank yous quickly for them! TORONTOSUN (Great to see you thought the love scenes at the beginning were very well written. And that's true, lol, when she starts them it's hard for them to stop! And I was really happy you liked that I brought in Darnley and Sumner, also that you think they're cool!) and vetgirlmx (Wasn't surprised to see your reaction to the ex-husband, lol, or the fact that you think it'll be interesting to see them confronting him when they talk to him. Glad you thought the pictures was creepy since I was aiming for that, as well as showing that the murders were definitely planned. And as for the woman I wasn't planning on anything coming from her, just the letter being mailed out and managing to get to the house. I wasn't surprised either that you were glad Nkosi and Skye were alright in the end, also a hypothetical baby victim; unfortunately that diorama is real though I'm not sure if it was based on an actual crime. And you'll see in a future story if their friends will be able to make it to the ceremony in Ireland in the summer. You made a good point, lol, about Beckett former friend in San Francisco, of course with that happening they'd want to make sure it wouldn't happen again. I was happy to see that you though it was cute that Eliza was worrying about them, wanted to have to do that once in a while, not just Julia lol. And that eppy is definitely one of my favorites too and you did mention you liked it so I thought you might like the reference in the chapter. And I figured the way they do the lock picking together would be good, as you said very sneaky and a lot less obvious than when Beckett did it on her own in the eppy. So I was happy to read that you enjoyed that! Pleased to see you had fun reading the chapter and that you can't wait to see what's next which you can do now!). Thanks so much for the reviews, I loved them and am grateful for the time taken to write them to send them my way!

A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _I'm Just a Bill_ by David Frishberg from the educational short film series _Schoolhouse Rock!_

As Far As Capitol Hill

"Detective Darnley-" the commissioner began to say as she frowned at him.

"Ma'am, I can't have Sumner in there with me," Darnley replied easily. "This is her ex husband and I don't want to handle it alone; especially if he is our killer. From what Sumner's told me about him it would be best to go in with backup."

"He wasn't a cop," Le Blanc replied nodding to Castle.

"No but he's been with me in numerous interrogations," Beckett said as she and her husband were in the room. "He could easily hold his own."

"Luckily Darnley isn't asking for that," Le Blanc replied. She studied the two closely and said, "If he makes any protests about them in there with you, you send them out."

With a nod Darnley said, "Understood." He left the office, not surprised the two were following him to the interrogation room. Turning to face them he then said, "I want you both to be sitting down."

"We had a feeling," Castle said though he and Beckett hadn't talked about it.

With a slight nod Darnley turned to the door and opened it, walking inside first with Castle and Beckett following him. "Mr. Abernathy," he said to the man standing on the other side of the table. "Have a seat please."

"Three cops?" Abernathy replied questioningly, leaning his hands on the top of the chair. "You're worried that much about me?"

"Sit," Darnley reiterated.

"I know who you are," Abernathy said as he reluctantly did what the detective asked. "My ex's partner, which is why she can't talk to me right?"

"This is Mr. Castle and Ms. Beckett," Darnley replied easily. "They're assisting me with my investigation. I'm wondering are you familiar with this book?"

Looking at the picture that the detective slid across the table to him Abernathy replied. "I think I've seen it," he said with shrug. "Why? Was it a murder weapon?"

"In a way," Castle said simply.

Looking at him Abernathy frowned and then said to Darnley, "What is it?"

"There have been three murders," he replied, not wanting to say any more than that for the time being.

"Look, you're wasting my time," Abernathy said in annoyance, starting to stand up.

"Sit down," Darnley told him sharply before he caught Beckett's eye.

"Did you ever read this book?" she asked.

"Huh, funny you're the one asking me that," Abernathy said.

When the man was silent at that point Beckett shared a look with Castle and said, "So you're aware of who we are now. But that's not what we're trying to figure out at the moment." She then made a gesture to her friend and took the file he handed her. "Again, have you read the book?"

"I looked at it when I got it," Abernathy replied. "But it was a coffee table book, one of those you don't really look at too often. Why?"

Sliding the picture from the first murder Beckett knew it was going to shock the man since the vic was naked but for her shoes and watch. She was right as Abernathy cringed when he saw it and she said, "Did you know her?"

"No," the man said slowly, staring at the photo. When there were two more pictures and he saw the wounds to the women he swallowed hard and said, "I didn't know them either."

"Then why don't you let us know where you've been the last four days?" Darnley said.

"I… you think I killed these women?" Abernathy said in surprise.

Castle, not finding the tone of the man's voice that believable, said, "We wouldn't show you those pictures if we didn't. We're not trying to scare or gross you out; Detective Darnley is attempting to solve a murder and doesn't have time to waste."

Shooting him a scathing expression Abernathy said, "Jodie put you up to this didn't she? Did you think she might be in on this? Maybe try to frame me?"

"Why would she want to do that?" Beckett said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Frowning Abernathy looked between the two and said, "I was out of town."

"From when to when?" Darnley then asked.

"From Thursday night when I flew to Boston for a weekend visit with my in laws to this morning at nine when my wife, sons and I flew back to Washington National," Abernathy said firmly.

"Alright," Darnley said, walking back and forth behind Castle and Beckett then. "What about these dioramas?"

"What about them?" Abernathy asked, looking up at him in confusion.

"Do you know anyone who's obsessed with them? Maybe you met them at the museum where you bought this book?" Castle asked.

"The Crime and Punishment museum," Abernathy said, starting to sound worried at that point. "On the 7th. They had a special exhibition and my wife Tilley and I went to it; got their book at the gift shop."

Nodding once; since they already had that information; Darnley smiled and said, "Want to tell us now about who you saw there?"

"I… how did you know that?" Abernathy asked in surprise.

"It's written all over your face," Castle said, taking the picture that the detective had handed over to him. He then slid it over to Abernathy said, "Is this him?"

"I… no," the man said, studying the sketch closely. "He had thinner eyes, he nearly looked Asian but they were green and he was definitely Caucasian and he had blonde hair. He was looking at the dioramas and I could have sworn he was drooling over them. I talked to him and said he needed to move on before I called security, he was almost… orgasmic and it was grossing my wife out and some others there too."

"And that's all you saw of him?" Beckett asked. At Abernathy's nod she stood with Castle as Darnley went around the table to inform him that he was a suspect and they were going to hold him for twenty-four hours until they could clear his alibi. Walking ahead of her husband into the interrogation room she said, "What do you think?"

"Good question," Sumner said with a slight frown. "The idea of him wanting to protect his wife from the creep is legit; he did that for me once before."

"Do his in laws live in Boston?" Darnley asked as he walked into the room then.

"Here," Sumner said as she handed him a file. "His finances and there are four tickets to Boston."

"Did he have twins?" Castle asked. When she nodded he said, "What does he do?"

"Carpenter," Sumner said. "I know, I thought the same but I took another look at the frames for the dioramas and no, that's not his work. I knew his and this wasn't it; unless he suffered brain trauma and completely changed it."

"No, nothing like that," Darnley said. "You thought?" he directed to Castle.

"It would have been the answer we were looking for," he said with a nod in response to the detective's question.

"Are you going to call Washington National?" Beckett asked.

"Yeah," Darnley said before he noticed his partner's troubled expression suddenly.

Seeing that all three were looking at her questioningly Sumner said, "It's weird that he flew from there. He had two cousins that died on a flight coming out of there nearly forty years ago."

"Air Florida?" Castle and Beckett said at the same time. Now it was their turned to be looked at questioningly and he said, "You know about it already," to Sumner.

"I do," Sumner replied. "He told me about it once when he was drunk; about the only time he would confide in me about anything. The wings of the plane iced over due to atmosphere and pilot error."

"I think I've heard of it," Darnley replied. "It crashed on the 14th street Bridge didn't it?"

"One of them," Sumner said. "But I get the feeling the only reason he flew from there was because of money."

"Cheaper flight?" Beckett asked.

"Yeah they flew Jet Blue," Darnley said. "So you're right. Okay so I need to call the airport and the museum. By the way; you two need to try and visit it's a great place."

"We're going to," Castle said, looking at his wife. "When the case is over."

"Hopefully it'll be soon," Darnley said. "Come on." He led the way out to his desk and began to make a phone call to the airport while his partner contacted the museum.

Watching them and waiting Beckett looked over at her husband when he began to pace next to her raising her eyebrow at him when he glanced at her. She wasn't surprised when he took her by the arm and pulled her over to the murder board to speak with her quietly.

" _I think_ ," Castle began. " _We might need to keep our eye on her_."

" _Why_?" Beckett asked, furrowing her brow.

" _Things keep coming back to her_ ," Castle said. " _But not her as the killer, she's being framed_."

" _I don't… think so_ ," Beckett said slowly. " _But you're right about there being a connection to her_." She could see that Castle was thoughtful and she glanced over at Darnley and Sumner and saw that the latter was looking over at them. " _You might want to explain your idea_ ," she told her husband.

"Sure," Castle replied. He waited for Darnley to finish his conversation before he asked the man, "He's clear?"

"He's clear," the detective said. "Sumner?" he asked.

"They're sending some footage from that room," she replied. "What were you two saying?" she then directed to Castle and Beckett.

Seeing that his wife was looking at him pointedly Castle cleared his throat slightly and then said, "I've been thinking about how things have been pointing to you," directing that to Sumner.

"We cleared her," Darnley said slowly, knowing that he wasn't referring to that.

"Right," Castle told him. "But what if someone was… well at first I was thinking that someone might be trying to frame you but Kate pointed out…"

"If they were trying to frame you the attack on you didn't really help," Beckett said as the woman looked to her. "Though I guess they could have thought that we'd think you were staging it."

"We don't," Darnley said rapidly when his partner looked a little stricken. "But you know you make an interesting point. We've been shown in the _Post_ for two of our cases," he then said as he looked at Sumner pointedly.

"He's right, they were a couple serial killer cases," she said to Castle and Beckett. "We were photographed with them as we brought them in after arrest, about two years and seven months ago."

"When they talked about you," Castle said suddenly after a few seconds of silence. "Did they mention your father?"

"My father? Well, yeah of course," Sumner said. "It's well known here that I'm his daughter." She then said, "You don't think someone could be trying to frame my dad do you?"

"No," Darnley said before Castle could answer that. "But I see what you're thinking, it's something with him."

"You live here in DC, politics and crime do go together sometimes," Castle said.

"It's not my father," Sumner said, beginning to sound angry.

"I don't think it is but it deals with you Sumners," Beckett said. She smiled briefly at her husband when he looked at her in surprise and said, "Would we be able to speak to him?"

"I… yeah," Sumner said before looking at her watch. "Yeah he just got out of a session not too long ago, let me call him and see where he is."

"I would have voted for him if I was in his district," Darnley murmured to his friend and Castle.

"Yeah he sounds like a great guy," Castle replied. "And that's where I got the idea of him. Anyone really trying to be that pure in DC is going to be taken under at some point."

"But it doesn't feel right Rick," Beckett then said.

"I know, that's where your comment about the details comes in," Castle said, nodding to her. "Unfortunately we've got no clue what those details are."

At that moment Sumner was coming back over to them and she told them, "He has to stay a little late tonight but he can speak with you."

"You think Le Blanc would hold you here?" Darnley asked.

"Are you kidding? We need to tell her," Sumner replied.

"Alright I'll go, you two stay," Darnley said to Castle and Beckett. He started to walk over to the commissioner's office when he paused and then asked him, "Know anyone?"

"At the Capitol? One of the Senators for Vermont," Castle said.

"The former mayor of NYC," Beckett added. "I know him too." She watched Darnley nod before he then went over to the office and she said, "Is he there?"

"I have no idea, I haven't heard from him since he moved out of New York," Castle said, shaking his head. "She'll let us talk to him though."

"He's right," Sumner said. "Telling her is just a formality, my father knows you two so you'll lessen the idea of him being spoken to by police."

When Darnley had finished speaking with his superior he walked out quickly to the three and said, "They're clear but she's begging me to make sure that you two don't do anything… outrageous."

"We'll be on our best behavior," Castle said. He wasn't surprised when his wife rolled her eyes but followed her and Darnley over to the elevator so they could head out.

* * *

"Have you been here much?" Beckett asked as they were walking up the Capitol Building steps.

"As a detective?" Darnley asked instead of answering. When she nodded he then said, "A couple times, mostly to speak to representatives of the city but once to speak to a janitor who was a possible suspect but was an eyewitness instead."

"So you know where we need to go?" Castle asked.

"Jodie also let her father know we needed to have someone meet us," Darnley said.

"Nice of her, it'll help having an escort in," Castle said. "How far to his office?"

"I have no idea," Darnley said. "I've never been."

"Have you met her father?" Beckett asked him then.

"I have," Darnley said with a nod. "I've had dinner at his home in Alexandria a few times. I get the idea that he wanted to make sure I was treating his daughter with respect."

"How long have you been partners?" Castle asked.

"Six years," Darnley replied. They were entering the building then and he walked over to the person who knew already was going to be their escort.

"Detective Darnley?" the security guard asked. When he nodded he said, "This way but you'll need to wear these passes while you're in the building."

Taking his and pinning it on his jacket Castle tried to see if it said anything besides Visitor and had the seal of Congress but there was nothing else there. So instead he paid attention to where the guard was leading them to the second floor and the offices.

Stopping in front of a door the guard said to the three, "Senator Sumner is in, please knock before you go inside."

Doing so as soon as the guard started walking away from them Darnley was pleased when the man inside called them in. But when he stepped into the office first he was slightly surprised to find that there was a younger man inside and not his partner's father. "Is Senator Sumner here?" he asked.

"Yes, who are you?" the man asked.

"Detective Patrick Darnley," he said, showing his badge instead of shaking the man's hand. "And you?"

"The name's Anton Mott," the man replied. A door opened behind them then and he said, "Senator, you have some people to see you."

"Of course, Jodie's partner," the senator said, going over and shaking his hand. "These are the consultants she was talking about?" he asked, nodding to Castle and Beckett.

"They are, this is Kate Beckett my friend from the Academy in New York," Darnley said. "I've told you about her before."

"Of course and I have heard of you," Senator Sumner said with a nod for her while they were shaking hands. "Anton, I'm wondering if you can get in touch with Senator Schubert about the bill?" he then directed to the man.

"Yes sir," Mott replied with a nod. "She should have the final draft ready by now."

Once he'd left Senator Sumner said to Castle and Beckett, "Anton is my aide, Senator Schubert and I are putting a bill into the Senate together at the end of the month with a group of other senators. But I wanted to say Ms. Beckett that I know you because of the former Senator Bracken."

Castle looked at his wife; slightly worried at that; but she merely gave the man a questioning look.

"I was unsure of him and now I know why," Senator Sumner replied. "Doubly unsure. And you're Richard Castle; I've read a number of your books and have kept reading them. You're helping Patrick?"

"They're consulting with me as they have some very valuable insight into it," Darnley answered. "Which is why we're here to speak to you."

"Of course, please have a seat here… on these chairs," Senator Sumner told them. "How's Jodie?" he asked.

"She's doing well," Darnley said, not surprised when the man nodded. "What we need to speak to you about is if you have received any threats lately."

"Well I would assume that there are threats in the letters I get," Senator Sumner replied. "I don't read those of course as they take them away but lately?"

"In the past six months or so," Castle told him.

When the senator shook his head, not surprising him, Darnley said, "Then there hasn't been anything even unusual?"

Seeing that the man was about to shake his head no Castle asked, "What about your bill?"

"My bill?" Senator Sumner said slowly. "Well it's to restructure the FAA."

"Really?" Darnley said. When he saw the slightly perplexed looks on Castle and Beckett's faces he explained, "There's been some trouble with it lately."

"We've heard," Beckett said with a nod.

"Of course, you know Investigator McDouglas," Senator Sumner said with a nod. "I've gotten her support for this bill and incidentally your husband too," he said, directing the last to Darnley.

"My husband?" he asked in surprise.

"I went to see them yesterday during their investigation," the senator said. He smiled and then said, "I see they kept things quiet like I requested. I went to speak with them about how the NTSB would take the bill. They were all for it and said the Board would stand behind the bill as well."

"No surprise there," Castle said. "But has there been any kind of heavy opposition to it?"

Senator Sumner opened his mouth to speak before he paused and then said, "I have had some opposition from Senator Smith. He has worked with the FAA and is insistent that it's fine. I've had suspicions that he was in on the corruption in the group but I don't know if I want to level that accusation at him without sufficient evidence."

"Is he aware of those suspicions?" Beckett asked him.

"I don't think so," the senator replied, shaking his head.

"Any lobbyists that would have reason to oppose you?" Castle asked though Darnley held up his hand to stop him from speaking.

"No," Senator Sumner said after thinking for a moment. "No money will be lost to them, just those who are corrupt."

"Then are you aware of something called the Nutshell Studies?" Darnley asked him.

"The… no," Senator Sumner started to say. When the detective stood he said in concern as he followed with Castle and Beckett, "Am I in some kind of danger?"

"No this was just so we could clear some things up," Darnley replied, shaking his hand firmly. "We need to get back to the investigation." When the man asked him to give his love to his partner he nodded and then led Castle and Beckett outside so they could leave the building. He knew they wanted to speak but didn't give them a chance to as he wanted to hold off until they were outside the building and walking on the Mall and he turned to his friend before anyone could speak.

"Any reason we just ran out of there?" Beckett asked, watching him closely.

"We didn't run," Darnley replied. "But there's somewhere we need to go first before… Jodie?" he trailed off when he caught sight of his partner in front of the steps to the building.

"I was going to see my father after you left," Sumner replied. "And I can tell you now that we're finished with the list of things bought for the dioramas."

"Even the latest one?" Castle asked.

"Even that," Sumner said. "And I wish your hunch you two had about the wallpaper had worked."

"It's an old kind?" Beckett asked. She wasn't surprised when the woman nodded and she said, "And let me guess, no real way to trace the other items?"

"The tubs were widely bought, though there weren't that many purchases made in the end," Sumner told them. "And the credit cards used have been traced and no one's coming up suspicious."

"No cash purchases?" Castle asked. At the detective's shake of her head he frowned and said, "That's suspicious too. Think they could have stolen them?"

Darnley started to protest before he said, "Hold on."

As he went down the sidewalk from them Sumner turned to Castle and Beckett and asked, "What did my father say?"

"Did you know about his bill concerning the FAA?" Beckett asked her.

"I did but I have no idea what the details are," Sumner replied. "He doesn't give me those until the bill is either through or defeated. But that doesn't surprise me, he was in an incident on a plane to LA where the NTSB had advised the FAA to change the oil used on the landing gear. Oh, that was your friend, Investigator McDouglas."

"I remember her telling us about that," Beckett said.

"And they didn't?" Castle asked.

"After my father's incident they did," Sumner said. "And that wasn't the original one. If he's addressing the rumors of corruption we've heard then this is very important to him. He doesn't want what happened to him happen again but much worse."

"If there was someone that was trying to target your father," Castle started to say.

"Because of this bill?" Sumner said quickly before he could continue.

"No, in general," Beckett said. "Who'd handle it?"

"The FBI," Sumner and Darnley said at the same time, the latter walking back to them then. "Just got off with the station and also the FBI, they're waiting for us."

"You spoke to Le Blanc too," Sumner said. "So I'll visit Dad while I'm here and don't worry, I won't give any details."

Watching her go Darnley said, "Ready?"

"Are we going too?" Castle asked, trying to hold back his excitement. But when the detective looked at him he realized he hadn't been that successful and he said, "Sorry."

"He does that," Beckett said with a nod when her friend looked at her. "But I can't blame him."

"We're not going to be going into the building really," Darnley replied as he led the way back to his car. "I just need to talk to the agent in charge of looking into the letters that threaten him."

"Is that all he does?" Castle asked.

"No but every once in a while there'll be a letter that he'll look into," Darnley said. "Not just him but whoever is assigned it at the time."

Beckett was quiet as they drove to the FBI headquarters and once they were walking into the lobby she asked her friend, "How did you get them to agree to talk to you?"

"I'm just asking for simple information needed for a case," Darnley explained as he stopped and made them do the same. "I'm not going to work any case with them so they're being cooperative."

"Darnley," a voice said behind them then.

"Jacobs?" Beckett said in shock when she saw the agent.

"Beckett?" the man said, the same surprise in his voice. "What are you… are you working with Patrick?"

"Consulting, yeah," Beckett said, going to him and hugging him tightly. "How are you?"

"I'm doing alright," Jacobs said. "So this is your husband I've heard."

"Rick, this is Fred Jacobs he went to the Academy with me and Patrick," Beckett said. "And this is Richard Castle," she then said to her friend.

"It's nice to meet you," Jacobs said.

"Nice to meet you but I have to be honest, I've never heard of you from them before," Castle said.

"I left before them," Jacobs explained. "Managed to get into the Metro PD before I joined the FBI."

"Congratulations on that by the way," Beckett said with a slight smile. "I know you've wanted to do that since we met you."

"Thanks," Jacobs said with a nod. "Your kids?"

"We have two daughters," Beckett said, looking then at Darnley.

"I didn't mention that to him," the detective said.

"Good to hear," Jacobs said. "Come on, better we talk outside," he then told them to bring attention back to why they were there.

"What can you tell us about the threats against Sumner?" Darnley asked when they were in a slight alcove made by some foliage.

"There's nothing that deals with the bill you'd mentioned," Jacob replied. "Mostly it's his track record which is par for the course. But there is one letter I brought a copy for you to read, I can't let you take this."

Taking the paper Darnley read it and said, "Really?"

"Really," Jacobs said as Castle and Beckett were leaning over to read it.

Seeing that the letter written was largely a taunt to the senator, Beckett said, "Same language," looking to Darnley.

"Yeah, we've gotten two photographs with that same kind of language to it," he explained to Jacobs who was looking at him questioningly. "Very short messages. What've you found out about the sender?"

"Little," Jacobs replied. "About all we found was the fact that they were sending the letters from here."

"Did, letters?" Darnley asked before stopping himself to look at him in surprise.

"It's more of the same and they were mass mailed," Jacobs replied. "Four letters from four different post offices and since there's no time stamp we have no way to pin point who exactly it was that mailed them. No DNA anywhere the ink of the address on the letter is generic, nothing that would let us know who sent it."

"Well now you know that the sender is our killer," Darnley replied. "That phrase to find them if he can? Same one as our note just different pronouns of course."

"Then you'll fill us in on the killer?" Jacobs asked.

"Of course," Darnley replied. "And if there's a threat that we can see to Sumner we'll let you know."  
"How was he when you saw him?" Jacob asked.

"Fine," Darnley said.

"He wasn't afraid or hiding something," Castle said. When the agent looked to him he said, "I had a feeling that's what you were referring to."

"You're right," Jacobs replied.

"He's right, Sumner was focused on his bill," Beckett said. "Which you're aware of?"

"I am," Jacobs said with a nod. "We've been keeping an eye on the FAA but there hasn't been anything from that quarter to concern us. Or Congress which we've looked at as well."

"Alright thank you Jacobs," Darnley said, handing back the letter and shaking his hand. "I'll get in touch with you again I'm sure."

"Thanks for bringing her along with you so I could see Beckett again," Jacobs said.

"I didn't get a chance to ask you," Beckett said as he turned to her. "Did you ever get married?"

"Nope, like you predicted I never really found someone," Jacobs asked. "I would ask you but I don't think it would work out."

Beckett put her hand on Castle's arm before she then said to her friend, "Because I'm married?"

"More because you were like a little sister to me back then," Jacobs replied. "And you our brother of course," he said to Darnley who merely smiled slightly. He hugged her briefly and then said, "Keep in touch," as he handed her a card.

"I will," Beckett said with a nod. They watched him go back into the building and she said to her friend, "I forgot about him."

"I nearly did as well," Darnley said in agreement as he nodded his head. "Until I met him for a past case."

"So he's doing well?" Beckett asked as they then walked back to the car.

"Oh yeah, I've had drinks with him a couple times," Darnley replied. "He's come over to the house for dinner and he knows Trev and Maddy." He then stopped her by gently taking her arm and said, "I haven't mentioned this to you because I have no idea if you want to talk about it, but Rizzio and-"

"It's alright," Beckett said reassuringly to him. "What do you know about what happened?"

"Not much," Darnley said, glancing at Castle who was walking with them. "I wasn't sure what you knew Rick so I didn't ask."

Sharing a look with her husband, Beckett gave him a slight nod before they then told Darnley about what had happened. "We never figured out where exactly Rizzio met with Tyson or how the hell he'd found him but he did."

"And you really have no clue where he is now?" Darnley asked, meaning Tyson.

"He's well known to the police up and down the coast," Castle then said as they were getting into the detective's squad car. "So they're going to look out for him."

"Which makes the name the Fox work," Darnley said as he was well aware of that APB that was essentially still in effect. "They're looking for him too right?"

"They are," Beckett said with a nod as he started to drive back to the station. She had recalled how they'd gone to the Capitol so it was a surprise when he diverted from the way he'd need to go to the station. "Patrick?" she asked.

"I just thought of something," Darnley said. "If he went to speak to the NTSB the other day…"

"Good idea," Castle said from the backseat. "You think he was tailing Senator Sumner?"

"I'm not sure, it's a hunch but I'll have to be sure of it," Darnley said as he drove them back to Dulles.

* * *

"Alright," Skye was saying to everyone standing in front of her. "We've done great work on this and we'll definitely have a conference to go to the media with our findings."

"If we need you there to assist us we will contact you," Nkosi said, standing next to her. "Please have the paperwork ready for us by tomorrow at five." After everyone started to leave he said to his co-IIC, "What will you do now?"

"My own paperwork; I want to get it out of the way so I could hopefully spend time with Mary," Skye said.

"Skye," a voice said behind them then. "Someone to see you."

"More than one person," Skye said as she walked to the door to the hangar. "There hasn't been another threat has there?" she asked as she saw Darnley, Castle and Beckett walking over to them.

"No we have some questions," Darnley said, going to his husband first.

Beckett smiled slightly as the two men embraced each other with one arm briefly and she said to Skye, "You met with Senator Sumner yesterday didn't you?"

"Oh sure, Detective Sumner's father," the investigator said with a quick nod. "Why?"

"Why don't we head inside where it's a little more private," Darnley told them.

"We… Mary?" Skye said in surprise when she saw her wife stepping out of the car that had just pulled up.

"Hey we're all here," Mary said a little uncomfortably. "I came to get you so we could head back to the hotel together, maybe get something for dinner but I guess that can wait."

"No come on," Skye said, grabbing her wife's arm. She led the way inside the hangar and to an office where there were a number of chairs around a table. "Alright," she said once they were all seated. "What is it you'd like to know about the senator's visit?" Seeing Mary's confused expression, she explained, "That idea of restructuring the FAA I told you was in the air in Congress."

"Oh, it's from him… wait your partner's father?" Mary asked.

"Yeah, he's spearheading the bill with another senator," Darnley replied. "So take us through the meeting with him."

"All he wanted," Nkosi began. "Was to see how we would feel about the FAA being 'cleaned up' as he put it."

"Of course we were all for it," Skye added. "With that cleaned up and no longer corrupt our advice might be taken more seriously and implemented."  
"That would be the hope," Nkosi said in agreement.

"Who would have anything against this?" Beckett asked.

"Those currently in charge and getting the money," Skye answered.

"No one's investigating that?" Castle said in surprise.

"Of course," Nkosi said. "But what they'll be able to find…"

"Congress is doing that," Beckett stated.

"It's been in the news though not that much has been said about it," Darnley said.

"Since nothing has been proven so far," Skye told them. "But I'm sure they'll slip up somewhere."

"Is Sumner on the committee?" Beckett said.

"No he's not impartial obviously," Skye answered before Darnley could say anything.

"So what is this about?" Darnley asked, looking at the two.

"You mean him coming to see us?" Nkosi asked. "I think he mentioned being told by a co-worker that we at the NTSB would not take the idea of the restructuring well," he answered after his husband had nodded, glancing to Skye for confirmation.

With a quick incline of her head the investigator told them, "We assured him nothing could be further from the truth. We find out what needs fixing, we ask the FAA to investigate. If they don't do that then we'd want that to be fixed of course so we told him we'd stand behind him completely."

"With that visit did you notice anything strange at all outside of the senator?" Darnley asked.

"Like someone following him or acting weirdly," Beckett said.

"Even someone here, someone on the go team," Mary said. She wasn't surprised when the others looked at her and she smiled slightly at them before Castle and Beckett looked back first at her wife and Nkosi.

"There was a car," Skye said slowly.

"Yes I saw it as well," Nkosi answered with a nod. "It was idling when he came in and then did not leave until he had."

"Did he arrive with the senator?" Darnley asked his husband.

"It pulled up just before we went inside," Skye replied before her co-investigator could. "We weren't able to see who was driving though."

"And a license plate?" Castle asked.

"It was far but it was from Virginia; a white compact; and I think… a three and F on it," Nkosi said.

"I saw the same," Skye agreed. "We didn't really look at it for that long."

"That'll be enough to help," Darnley replied. He wrote on the paper he had his small notepad opened to and then said, "I think that's all we've got for now. We'll call next time; I'm assuming you're leaving?"

"My mother is waiting for me to get home to take Maddy," Nkosi told his husband.

"And we were just heading back to the hotel," Skye said, looking at her wife.

Getting up and leaving the group waited for Skye to lock the hangar door before they went to the cars that were parked there.

"So you still need to work?" Nkosi was asking Darnley.

"Unfortunately," he said with a nod. "But I promise I'll come home as soon as I can."

"We'll see you tomorrow for dinner," Skye said to Castle and Beckett. "I hope."

"You will," Beckett replied. "Enjoy your night."

Skye smiled and then said to Nkosi, "I'll finish the paperwork at the hotel and will drop it off tomorrow to see what'll need to be done."

Nodding the investigator watched with the others as his co-investigator and Mary left and he then turned to his husband, "Tell me when you're coming home."

"Of course," Darnley said, surprised when Castle and Beckett went to his car to get inside.

After putting on her seatbelt Beckett glanced out of the windshield to see if her friend was on his way to join them. But there was little surprise when she saw that Darnley was sharing a brief kiss with Nkosi and she looked away to give them privacy before she saw that her husband was looking at her. "What?" she asked, a little unsure of the look on his face.

"Jealous?" Castle asked, being serious.

"I asked her if she was annoyed by the fact that I couldn't see her as an actual girlfriend," Darley said before Beckett could answer that. He started the car and waved to his husband before pulling away and heading to the street that would lead them back into the city. "She told me we were friends and to hurry and putt so she could go next."

"So you weren't kidding about that golf course," Castle said in amusement after he heard his wife laugh slightly.

"It was an escape," Beckett said. "But now you know. And I'm just happy to see you happy."

"She asked me once if I was ever worried I'd be hiding," Darnley explained to Castle as he knew he had to be confused as to what that meant. "And I was because I thought I'd have to but I'm very open and happy as she said."

Squeezing his arm gently Beckett then said, "What about after we try to find the license plate?"

"I'm not sure," Darnley replied. "But I get the feeling that we might need to look at the case again with the addition of my partner and her father."

"How-" Castle started to say before Darnley's phone rang.

"It's Sumner," he said to the two, able to almost feel their curiosity. He picked up the phone and said, "Did you get-"

"There's been another attack," Sumner interrupted him. "You have to get down here."

"We're on our way," Darnley said, about to hang up when his partner spoke again.

"No you don't understand," Sumner replied. "You have to get here because you have to take point."

"Why?" Darnley said, his brow furrowed.

"Because Ethan is here," Sumner told him. "He's dead."

* * *

Jogging over to his partner who was standing on the sidewalk and leaning against her squad car Darnley said, "What happened?"

"Ms. Brewer lives next door when she heard a scream coming from the house," Sumner said, running her hand over her face. "She looked out to find Ethan struggling with a man all in black; about the same height as him; and they fought until she saw the man shoot him and then run off."

"How did he get away?" Beckett asked.

"She heard the tires from a car squealing as it drove away but it was too far away from the house for her to see," Sumner said.

"What about the attack?" Castle asked.

"They were going to use the barn one," Sumner replied. She pointed to the driveway of the house where a shed could be seen and told the other three, "There were cans of gasoline all around it and a noose as well."

"And the vic?" Darnley asked.

"She was taken away to the nearest hospital," Sumner answered. "I didn't have a chance to talk to her, her name is April Leeds."

"He has some kind of problem with women," Castle said immediately as soon as the detective stopped talking.

"He's right, you remember the barn scene was a man," Beckett pointed out to her friend.

"I'd had the same thought," Darnley said with a frown, looking thoughtful. "Did you see him?" he then directed to Sumner.

"No the officer who responded to Ms. Brewer's call found his wallet and took a look at his ID. He let me know who that was," she replied slowly.

"Alright you need to go back to the station-" Darnley began to say.

"What's he holding?" Castle asked suddenly, interrupting the detective.

Turning with Darnley to see what he was talking about Beckett could see it was a scarf that one of the ME workers was holding while the body was being taken away in a body bag and she turned to his partner as she'd seen Sumner wearing that exact same one the day before.

"It's not me," Sumner replied to their looks, sounding heavily panicked. "I-"

"It's not," Darnley replied. "First off you have about four of that same scarf. It's her favorite," he said to Castle and Beckett. "Two we've cleared you."

"A long time ago," Castle said to reassure the woman.

"They're right, I don't think it's you either," Beckett said. "But you do realize what this means."

"He's trying to frame you both," she and Castle said at the same time as they looked at Sumner.

"What would be the point though?" the detective asked uneasily.

"You can't think of anyone?" Darnley said, agreeing with the two immediately at that idea.

"I… I don't know," Sumner said, her voice obviously strained.

After Darnley had made a signal to her with his hand Beckett took Castle's arm before he could follow the two to the street and told him, "She'll have to take the license plate and her own past for now."

"And talk to Le Blanc," Castle pointed out.

"I don't envy her that," Beckett said, shaking her head.

"You think the commissioner would take her off the case?" Castle said.

"Absolutely," Beckett said. "Unless she recalls that Sumner was never a suspect in the first place." When her husband looked at her questioningly she smiled slightly and told him, "Patrick never let her know that she was suspect at any time."

"And she still isn't," Darnley said firmly to them as he rejoined them. "She's going back and talking with Le Blanc and she'll let her know that she'll offer her apartment to be searched and whatever else she needs to clear her name. But also mention that I've done that already as she has an alibi."

"You might get in trouble," Beckett told her friend firmly.

"I know but I'll deal with that situation when we get to it," Darnley said. "Ready to go inside?"

"As ready as we can be," Castle said. "There's something I don't get," he told the two as he followed them up to the house where they knew CSU was already working. "How was Abernathy aware of his being framed?"

"We have to talk to his wife," Darnley said.

"I would have suggested that Sumner do that but I'm a little unsure," Beckett said.

"The thought ran through my head for a second until I recalled who exactly Mrs. Abernathy is," Darnley said. "Go inside, I'll talk to the officer that went to inform her of her husband's death."

While the detective was getting his radio to speak into it Beckett stepped inside of the house first and paused for a moment at the destruction the attack had brought to the living room. "So she put up a fight," she said.

"I'll tell him to get in touch with the hospital," Castle said quickly before he left her.

Scanning the room for a long time Beckett frowned and then turned to go, bypassing Darnley and Castle. When she heard them both make a sound of confusion she told them, "I want to see the shed; we're not going to get anything in there. Leeds was found in the shed and that's where Abernathy found them."

"She makes a great point," Darnley told Castle before they followed her.

"When doesn't she?" Castle asked with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"Good point too," Darnley said before they caught up with her at the outline where Abernathy's body had lain.

"He bled out," Beckett said though it was obvious with how much was on the concrete.

"But he tried to get away from him," Darnley said, pointing to the short trail. "So right here," he said as they found where it began. They went together to the shed before he looked inside and then said, "Wait, why the hell is there gasoline in here?"

"He combined two of them," Beckett said in realization.

"There's a burned barn one too?" Castle asked.

"No just a room," Darnley answered. "She's right… what the hell does that mean though?"

"I'm not sure," Beckett replied, shaking her head. "Unless there was something with this one he felt the need to destroy with fire."

"Did he have a chance to leave the diorama?" Castle asked. "The one that he made himself?"

"We need to search," Darnley said. "We can take a look here now, look through the hay Rick. Kate?"

"I'll look everywhere else," Beckett said. "And you?"

"Outside, yell to me if you find it," Darnley said before he left the two alone.

Watching him go Castle said to his wife, "You two would have made great partners too."

"I begged him to stay when he first talked about coming back here," Beckett said as they were searching. "But it was home so I couldn't demand it of him though we'd always talked about sticking together to be partners."

"You missed him," Castle said.

"I did," Beckett said before she heard him start to speak and then stop abruptly. Turning to him she asked, "What is it?"

"I hired someone to find him," Castle said. "When I was in Atlanta I told them what I wanted but Patrick found me before he could get back to me. What?" he asked when he saw the look that his wife was giving him.

"If we weren't at a crime scene I'd kiss you right now," Beckett said with a smile, still looking through the crates that where around the edges of the room.

"Keep that in mind for later," Castle told her. He shared a smile with her before something hit his fingertips in the hay and he paused. "Kate, I've got it," he said as he slid his hand up and realized it was the diorama. He pulled it carefully out as his wife called to Darnley and said, "He was combining them."

"You were right," the detective said, hearing that and looking at the scene in Castle's hands. "Okay so he was combining the two… what the hell is that?"

Peering down into the scene with him Castle was first to make out what he'd seen and said, "A cane?"

"A cane… you've got to be kidding," Beckett said, looking at her husband.

"Her ancestor? But why?" Darnley asked, referring to the fact that the Sumner back in the 1800s had been beaten on the floor of the Senate with one.

"I think we need to make some calls," Beckett told him.

"She's right, it's about the Sumners now," Castle said. "It has to do with them."

Thinking about that for a moment Darnley then nodded and told them, "We need to speak to the vic first before we see what Sumner might have. I'll text her to look at her father's past as well. For now let me get this to CSU to look at and we'll see what Leeds has to say about her attacker."

* * *

"I wonder why he didn't take you in with him," Castle said to his wife.

"Probably better that she talks to a detective," Beckett said. "It'll put her at ease after what she went through which I'm sure she'll appreciate."

" _This is a bizarre case_ ," Castle told her as he went to sit next to her in the waiting room.

" _I know, if they were trying to frame either of them they took their time to show it_ ," Beckett said with a slight frown. " _Talking about_ Rizzio _earlier_ ," she then whispered to him so they wouldn't be overheard. " _What if this is the same case_?"

" _That's true_ ," Castle said after thinking that over. " _But she would have thought of someone wouldn't she_?"

" _She might now that she's faced with the idea of being framed; but was I aware of who it was that was framing you_?" Beckett asked.

"Yeah…" Castle said slowly. " _Alright, so should you text her_?"

"What is it guys?" Darnley said as he walked up to them.

Beckett stood and took her friend's arm leading him over to the windows where they were a little more alone before she spoke to him and what she and Castle had been discussing. "I honestly had no clue it was either of them," she said. "And definitely not Rizzio."

"I'll text her," Darnley said.

"She trained here in the area?" Castle asked, having been standing with them.

"She did, so of course if it's an Academy classmate he'd be local," Darnley replied.

"What did Leeds say?" Beckett asked after he'd sent the text.

"She got a quick glimpse of his reflection in the kitchen window where she was doing dishes before he was forced to drag her into the living room," Darnley explained. "She put up a hell of a fight," he then said so they wouldn't wonder why the killer had done that. "And she could confirm the sketch, just his eyes of course. That's about all she remembers."

"He never said anything?" Castle asked. When Darnley shook his head no he said to him and Beckett, "Then he's careful but not to the degree he could be with the police."

"Are you so sure?" Darnley said in surprise.

"No he's right, the talking is something you'd think of because vocal recognition is possible," Beckett said. "But he's made mistakes before, the wallpaper the most obvious."

"So you're thinking what, he might not be police?" Darnley asked.

"He may be," Castle said. "But lower in the totem pole; patrol or just working at the station."

"I'll look into that when we get back," Darnley said with a nod. "Mrs. Abernathy is there already at the station and we need to speak with her."

"Wait," Castle said hurriedly as the detective was looking at his wife.

"I'd prefer to have just Kate with me-" Darnley started to say.

"No, not that," Castle interrupted. "What did Leeds have to say about the gasoline?"

"It's her brother's. He has an ATV he takes out into the country but he lives in an apartment so the ATV is in storage and he's got the gasoline for his trips there," Darnley said. "But that one can was the killer's," he said.

"The one that didn't match all the others," Beckett said with a nod as it had been hard not to notice it.

"Alright we should go, see what Mrs. Abernathy has to say," Darnley then said as he was sure there wasn't much else they needed to do.

Going back to the station the car was quiet until Castle slightly cleared his throat and said to them, "Is Sumner aware that Mrs. Abernathy is there?"

"She is but she's never been mad at her; Jodie at her ex's wife," Darnley said before he clarified that.

"What about vice versa?" Castle asked. "What if Sumner was seeing-"

"Not going to happen," Darnley said, interrupting him immediately. "While the divorce was amicable she was hurt when she found out about the affair. She didn't love him so much she'd go back to him."

"Then what if it was just Mrs. Abernathy wanting to get rid of his ex?" Castle asked.

"The trip to Boston?" Beckett reminded him.

"That's what bothers me," Castle told her. "They're apparently not very well off but they take a trip…"

"We'll ask her what the reason was for it if it was more than a simple visit to the in laws," Darnley said as he was pulling into the parking for the station. Inside on the top floor he went over to his partner who was in the break room leaving Castle and Beckett by his desk.

"We seem to have forgotten their sons," Beckett told her husband as they could see Mrs. Abernathy in the interview room nearest them.

"I know but I still have the feeling she's not an innocent in this," Castle said. "There's also another option." He was going to tell her when she turned to look at him but then hesitated when he saw that Darnley and Sumner were walking up to them.

"What option is that?" the former asked.

Taking a mental deep breath Castle said, "A conspiracy, with Abernathy as the patsy."

"You think that explains why there was no evidence of him being involved until he came to our attention," Beckett stated instead of asked.

"I do and who better to be a suspect framing you and your father; or just you; than your ex," Castle said to Sumner.

"He may have found out who was doing that to him," Beckett said, looking at the woman herself.

"Talk to her," Sumner told them. "See what she has to say."

"Listen," Castle said quickly while Darnley was taking off his coat. "You don't need me here at the moment so let me pick up some coffee for us okay?"

"We have the machine," Sumner said.

"Go with him," Darnley said to her then. When his partner looked at him in surprise he explained, "Go and keep thinking of whoever you can in your past that we might need to look at."  
Beckett watched her husband leave with the detective and she then turned to her friend saying, "How do you want to take this?"

"I think we'll be sympathetic until we need to not be," Darnley answered, leading her over to the room. "Mrs. Abernathy," he said to get the woman's attention as she stood looking out the window away from them.

"Yes… you're the detective Ethan spoke to," the woman replied, drying her eyes. She sat down after Darnley had indicated her to do so and she whispered, "Did you find who did this to my husband?"

"I'm afraid not but we're hoping you might have some information to help us," Beckett said.

"This is Kate Beckett," Darnley said. "She's consulting on this case with me and you can speak to her as well."

"I know who you are," Mrs. Abernathy replied. "I have your books."

"Then you'll talk to us?" Beckett asked.

"Of course," the woman replied earnestly.

"Then can you tell us how your husband has been acting recently?" Darnley asked.

"He's been worried," Mrs. Abernathy replied. "We don't have enough money at the moment for the four of us; we just moved into a house; so he's been trying to find extra money."

"And was he able to?" Beckett asked, looking at Darnley as they hadn't seen that in the man's financials.

"I have a separate account," Mrs. Abernathy replied. "And about six months ago I discovered some money coming in that I couldn't explain and I didn't deposit."

"Did you husband have your card?" Darnley said. When the woman nodded he then said, "You noticed the money did you ever ask him where it was coming from?"

"Of course I thought that it was him trying to pay me to ignore an affair," Mrs. Abernathy told them. "But when I confronted him he said that he was being paid. I thought it was a job before he said that he had given someone some of his hair." She saw the looks on the faces of the two across from her and quickly said, misunderstanding them, "I thought he was crazy but then he told me that it was for a drug test."

"Did that money continue to flow in?" Darnley said after sharing a quick glance with Beckett.  
"Yes, I thought it was strange but then he told me that whoever it was he was… blackmailing him," Mrs. Abernathy replied softly. "I told him to stop but he said to me that it was huge, this person."

"He never told you who it was," Beckett stated instead of saying.

Shaking her head Mrs. Abernathy then said, "I tried to get him to tell me; just in case. But he didn't want me to know in case they might come after me and our sons."

"They would do that," Darnley said. At the woman's nod he then said, "Alright, then how did your husband get the money?"

"He never said, he was tight lipped about that as well," Mrs. Abernathy replied softly. "But it was cash I knew."

"This trip to Boson," Beckett then said gently. "Was it one you purchased?"

"We had enough money in my account to transfer to his; as Ethan wanted; and my parents wanted to see us so we went," Mrs. Abernathy replied. "But while we were gone Ethan was very unsure and couldn't really relax, I asked him why he didn't go home but he said no he needed to stay with me. He was being framed for murder he told me."

"He knew that?" Beckett asked in surprise.

"He called me before he went to that house and…" Mrs. Abernathy began to say before tears welled up in her eyes. She took a moment to compose herself before whispering, "He said that he had spoken to the police, to you I guess and he said that he had to stop the person."

"How did he know where the killer was?" Darnley inquired.

Shaking her head Mrs. Abernathy then burst into tears and managed to say through them, "He told me he loved me but he had to stop it before it went further and he was in… in jail."

Darnley made a motion to Beckett with his first two fingers and she left the room in time to see her husband walking from the elevator with Sumner. She watched as the detective went to her desk and her husband motioned to her to head to the break room. She was surprised to find them alone when she quickly explained to him what they'd heard in the interview.

"That had to be hard," Castle said, shaking his head when she'd finished. He felt her squeeze his hand then and told her, "We don't need to stay too much longer do we?"

"It's alright that'll be fine for now," Beckett replied. "We just need to wait and see what Sumner might get."

"She's nice," Castle said. "Once you talk to her a little more but she couldn't think of anyone from the Academy that might target her."

"That she can remember?" Beckett asked.

"Yeah so I suggested to her to just look at everyone," Castle said before he heard the text message alert on his wife's phone.

"They're back home," Beckett said, smiling then at the message from his mother. Checking the time she said, "Wait, it's just…"

"Too bad," Castle said, seeing the message after that one that read Julia's dance class teacher was too ill to continue the lesson. He then sucked in a breath of air and said, "I hope they won't catch it."

" _It was a sore throat and she kept well away from the children_ ," Beckett read Martha's third text. "So they'll be okay, hopefully."

"Well if she's giving them some orange juice that might help," Castle commented as they read the fourth text from his mother which was also the last.

"Hey, are you two okay to talk?" Darnley asked as he went over to the doorway.

"Here's your coffee," Castle said after he and his wife both nodded to the detective's question. "How's Mrs. Abernathy?"

"I had an officer escort her to her friend's home," Darnley replied. "Where her sons are."

"Did you get an alibi from her?" Castle asked.

"I did but since the only time she wasn't with her husband was today when she was with that friend," Darnley explained.

"She confirmed Mrs. Abernathy was there," Castle said.

"She did, so it's not her obviously," Darnley said. "Sumner's volunteered to look into the deposits that Abernathy himself made into his wife's account but I think their story checks out."

"So now it becomes a question of what the blackmail has to do with the murders," Darnley said. "And why exactly he was framing Abernathy."

"I think we all know that already," Sumner said. "To get to either me or my father."

"But why and who," Darnley said insistently. When Sumner just shook her head no he then said, "We'll have to start looking into your past Jodie and your father's."

"I know," Sumner said before she glanced at Castle and Beckett.

"You'll call us if you find anything right?" Castle asked.

"Of course," Darnley said. "I'm sorry Kate but-"

Holding up her hand to stop him Beckett said, "It's alright, this is about when we leave ourselves and if she'd rather keep this quiet between you two or anyone else here at the station that's fine. But like Rick said, let us know what you find."

"Of course," Darnley replied with a nod. "I'll call you tomorrow morning if we don't talk sooner."

With that Castle and Beckett left for the elevator, watching Darnley follow Sumner into a conference room in the back. While they were heading down to the lobby he said to his wife, "Want to call them now?"

"You read my mind," Beckett told her husband teasingly before she reached out to take his hand the second they were outside on the street where he hailed a cab for their trip back to the hotel.


	15. My Thoughts Return To You

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: The lyrics in this chapter are from the songs _I Live for You_ by George Harrison; from his remastered album _All Things Must Pass_ ; and _Here, There and Everywhere_ by John Lennon and Paul McCartney; from The Beatles album _Revolver_.

A/N #2: It was great to get the feedback I did for the last chapter so let me get quickly to my thank yous for them! Guest (I was happy to read that you thought the last chapter was outstanding. And yeah, that can happen in investigations, getting a lot of info, way better than nothing at all of course. And it was great to see you think Castle and Beckett are amazing together in this series in the different aspects of their life as you said; I tried to write them that way so there's more than investigations to their relationship. Great to see you think it's an outstanding story and series as well! You're welcome again for posting!), TORONTOSUN (Glad you liked the way I involved Capitol Hill. The same with how everyone was talking about the case around the table) and vetgirlmx (Great to see you thought it was a really good chapter! And you are right, things are picking up with more dead bodies. And yep, you were right about him not being the killer, lol; I'm not surprised you were able to figure it out lol. But yeah, they do need to start looking at the Sumners since that's where everything's pointing of course, lol. Oh and not surprised you weren't about Abernathy ending up dead trying to take care of things himself. Really happy you liked how they met another person from the Academy but yeah, I didn't want the guy to take too much from Darnley; just a light acquaintance as it were lol. Great that you can't wait to see what happens next and now you don't need to either!). Thanks so much for the reviews that I got this time around, loved reading them and appreciate the time taken to write them and send them to me!

A/N #3: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _I Live for You_ by George Harrison as mentioned in the A/N above.

My Thoughts Return To You

Setting down her book Julia looked up as her sister came into the room before the toddler hopped a few times. "Are you dressing up?" she asked her with a smile.

"Yeah, I'm a ballerina," Eliza said firmly since she was wearing her sister's old tutu. "Like you are."

"I'm more a dancer," Julia said. "Are you dancing with Rupert?"

"No," Eliza said, climbing up onto the couch then. Once Julia had helped her she said, "Are Mommy and Daddy gonna call?"

"Of course," Julia said. "They told you when you called them." She smiled when her little sister nodded and she then asked, "Is Gram still sewing?"

"Yep, she said I can come down the stairs," Eliza said. When her sister looked at her in surprise she added, "'Cause Rita and Macca came with me too."

Since their dogs were with them Julia nodded and said, "I finished my homework."

"Kay, now what?" Eliza asked eagerly.

"Are you gonna keep wearing that?" Julia asked.

"No, off," Eliza said firmly before she started to stand.

"Wait," Julia said, trying not to giggle as she could imagine their mother's reaction to the toddler standing on the couch. She helped her off of it and got the tutu off before saying, "What do you want to do now."

"Can we go outside?" Eliza asked.

"We have to ask Gram," Julia said, looking at the tutu she was holding. "Come on, we have to put this away anyway."

Eliza went with her sister up the stairs, the dogs following them, and she eventually asked, "Can we play with our bows?"

"We have to ask Gram," Julia repeated. She wasn't surprised when her sister frowned and said, "Well we do. And you know what, it's getting dark."

"It is," Martha said, looking up at the two who had reached her door by then. "I thought you were going to play with your sister after she finished her homework Eliza."

"She did," the toddler replied.

"Yeah, she wanted to play outside," Julia told their grandmother.

"Unfortunately it is getting dark, you were right Julia," Martha replied. "So you'll have to think of something else for the time being."

"Do you think Mari could come over?" Julia asked. When her grandmother looked at her she said quickly, "Just for dinner I know she can't spend the night."

"Let me call Rebecca," Martha replied. As she reached for her phone she watched Julia come over to look at the sleeve she had just finished hemming and said, "Would you like to learn to sew now?"

"Maybe," Julia said. "Is it that hard to do?"

"If you practice enough you might be able to do it," Martha said. "But another time," she told her. She was about to start dialing the number she had for Rebecca Foster when her text alert began to ring. "Oh, it's your parents," she said.

"What did they say!" Eliza exclaimed, running to her to look at her phone.

"They're back at the hotel and they'd like to speak with you now if you want to," Martha told them.

"Yeah, Jules that way they can swim for dinner," Eliza told her earnestly.

"I want to talk to them too," Julia said with a smile. "So yeah, tell them we'll talk to them now."

Martha texted her son and then gathered her granddaughters before they went down the stairs to the family room where she waited for a return text. Once she had it she then turned on the TV while the girls were waiting and smiled as they stood in front of it to wait to see their parents.

"Hey you two," Castle said with a smile at the girls' cries of, "Mommy, Daddy!"

"You missed us?" Beckett asked with a smile.

"Yeah, a lot," Julia said. "Are you here early?"

"A little, mainly because the case at this point is searching people and you know usually we leave that to the police," Castle explained.

"So you finished?" Eliza asked.

"No," Beckett said. "But we may be a little bit closer."

"I hope you finish before Friday," Julia said, nearly blurting the words out.

"Why?" Beckett asked her.

"Because I'd like it if you could go out together around the city by yourselves before we come," Julia said.

"I'm sure we will," Castle said. "I'll make sure that we can."

"So now that we have that set," Beckett said. "We want to hear about your days of course."

Eliza looked at her sister before Julia nodded to her and she then looked at their parents and said, "We learned about aminals today, lions."

"Nice," Castle said. "And what did you learn?"

The toddler told her parents a few things she'd been told, saying them eagerly to them before she stopped. "And we played lions at recess," she said as the lesson about the animals had taken until then.

"Oh?" Beckett asked.

"Don't worry, we didn't play hunting," Julia said, guessing from her mother's tone that she was thinking what they'd done exactly. "Just lion tag."

"And how was that played?" Castle asked.

"When someone was tagged it they had to lay in the grass and close their eyes while they counted and then go forward ten steps on hands and knees before they could run," Julia said.

"Sounds like it was fun," Castle told them. "Was it?"

"Yep," Eliza said simply before her parents laughed slightly.

"And after recess until you left school?" Beckett said.

"We got to paint lions," Eliza replied. "But we had to leave the picture there."

"Hopefully we'll get to see it when we get back home next week," Castle said. "I'd love to see it."

Eliza giggled a little shyly before she leaned against her sister and then said, "Your turn Jules."

"Okay," Julia said with a smile. "So we did math first which wasn't too bad, just some word problems."

"Then it was easier for you," Beckett said, smiling. "Since you got to read of course."

"Yeah and then we did some history about the… Gilded Age," Julia said, recalling for a moment before she told them. "That was interesting but why were people so greedy?"

"Because that's how some people can be," Castle said. "And in those days monopolies were the best way to get money."

"Hmm, I'm glad you're not like that Daddy," Julia said. "Sorry Mommy but we didn't hear about any women doing that too."

"I'm not surprised," Beckett said with a slight nod. "After that?"

"It was recess," Julia said. "Then we worked on science and learned about how to classify animals. English was after and we read some poems by Wordsworth."

"Just poems?" Castle asked.

Nodding Julia then said, "And after we learned about the artist Alphonse Mucha and his advertisements and how that helped sell things."

"We put her in a good school," Castle commented to his wife.

"I think so," Beckett said, slightly laughingly.

"And that was until the bell rang," Julia said. "Gram told you about my class."

"Not much," Castle pointed out. "It was mainly that Ms. Grey had a sore throat and couldn't teach anymore."

"She almost couldn't talk," Julia explained.

"She's right, so classes are canceled for now until she gets better," Martha told them. "Likely through until next Tuesday."

"So that helps you on Friday," Beckett said.

"Yeah, Ms. Grey even said when we were leaving," Julia said. "But she was talking to me from far away so I wouldn't get sick; so no one would get sick."

"Good to hear, we wouldn't want you to be sick for your vacation," Castle told them. "So after you came home?"

"It wasn't that long ago," Julia said. "I did my homework, it's a worksheet for science and then reading in my English book I brought home."

"You're finished?" Beckett asked.

"Yep and we were gonna play outside with our bows and arrows but it's getting dark," Julia said.

"I want to play," Eliza said.

"Tomorrow you should have a chance to," Beckett told her soothingly. "Your sister doesn't have to go to dance class after all."

"Can Mari come over and play?" Julia asked. "She doesn't have to dance either."

"If her parents say it's alright," Castle said.

"And dinner tonight?" Julia then said hopefully.

"I have no problems with that," Martha assured her son and daughter in law. "She asked me earlier if she could come over."

"Then that's fine," Beckett said. "Just try not to make too much of a mess or trouble for your gram. Yes sweetie?" she then directed to Eliza who'd raised her hand.

"What about you and Daddy?" the toddler asked.

"There's not much to say," Beckett replied, smiling at her husband.

"Your mom and I did walk on the Mall though, near the hotel," Castle told them.

"That's where the tall monument is," Julia said.

"I know," Eliza replied, nodding her head. "Are we gonna see it?"

"Of course, we'll walk along it so you can see everything that's there," Beckett answered.

"Good, now you can swim," Eliza told them.

Laughing slightly with Beckett, Castle then said, "I guess so; Mother?"

"Oh, I spent some time while they were in school talking on the phone to some friends in DC," Martha replied. "They're begging me to see them."

"You can if you want to," Castle said, seeing the girls were looking at her. "Did you ask them what they thought?"

"I did and they seem to be fine with me visiting friends," Martha said.

"She said she would come back at night," Julia piped up saying.

"I think we figured she would," Beckett said. "And you know you have all our agreement Martha; it's up to you."

"I'll want to join you here and there," Castle's mother said.

"Alright we'll let you go so you can have more time to play with Mari," Beckett told the girls. "We will try to call around this same time; maybe earlier Martha; as we're going to a couples only dinner tomorrow night."

"What does that mean?" Eliza asked.

"We're going to dinner with Patrick and his husband Trevor and Skye and her wife Mary," Castle said.

"Oh, fun?" Eliza said.

"It should be," Beckett said in amusement. "We'll want to hear about how your dinner went last night," she told them with a smile. "Sweet dreams for now girls, I love you."

"Love you Mommy," Eliza said first. "Have a good night with Daddy at the pool."

"I will," Beckett said slightly laughingly.

"I love you too Mommy," Julia told her. "And I agree with Eliza I hope you and Daddy have a good night."

"We will," Beckett assured her.

"And I love you too girls," Castle said. "I'll make sure your mom and I have a great time tonight."

"Good," Eliza said firmly with a nod of her head. She smiled when her father chuckled slightly and then told him, "I love you Daddy, I miss you still and you too Mommy."

"I miss you both," Beckett said.

"So do I," Castle told her.

"I love you too Daddy and I miss both of you a lot but we're closer to Friday," Julia said quickly.

"Martha we'll see you tomorrow and thank you again," Beckett said.

Smiling Castle's mother said, "There's no need to thank me kiddo, I have time with my granddaughters and I never begrudge that."

"Alone with us Gram?" Eliza asked. When she nodded the toddler smiled widely and then turned back to her parents. "It's kay Mommy," she said reassuringly.

"I know," Beckett replied with a smile.

"Still Mother, we appreciate you watching them," Castle said. "And coming down with them on your own."

Waving her hand slightly Martha told her son, "I'm happy to do it Richard. Go and swim and have dinner, that nice evening Eliza wants you to have."

"Me too," Julia said.

Saying goodbye to their daughters and his mother Castle turned off the TV and said to his wife, "Should we go?"

"I don't know Rick," Beckett said to him teasingly as she stood up from one of the table chairs she'd sat on. "It's just a lap pool; all we'll be able to do is race and exercise."

"But if we're alone there?" Castle asked with one eyebrow raised.

Beckett didn't say anything, merely smirked at him before she went over to the closet to change. She heard his muttered curse easily as he was nearing her and smiled as he walked into the closet. Before he could get too close to her she pressed her hand to his chest and said, "We either swim now or we wait for it."

For a moment Castle was tempted to go with the latter option but finally nodded his head and he moved away to get his trunks. He watched her getting changed, not trying to hide the fact that he was doing so, and noticed eventually that she did the same to him. He smiled and then waited for her to place her sundress she'd brought to cover her bikini on before he went to her and said, "You make it very hard to decide."

"This was your idea," Beckett said.

"I think it was more Eliza's but okay," Castle said before he leaned over and kissed his wife firmly on the lips. Even being tempted to make it deeper than it was he soon pulled away from her and sighed saying, "Are we dressing up?"

"Of course," Beckett replied with a smile. "Come on." She took his hand and then led him to the door where she paused to make sure he picked up the key to the room before they left. " _I wonder if we can take the girls_ ," she said when they were going down in the elevator.

Smiling at her for going to Irish since they weren't alone, Castle said, " _We can but like you said, it's not a regular pool_."

Beckett nodded, glancing at the man who turned around to look at them, she then turned to her husband and murmured slightly before he looked at her in surprise. Luckily by then they were at the lobby and she walked with Castle over to the pool which they'd checked out quickly after returning from the station. She grabbed some towels with him and went to one of the lounge chairs at the end.

Waiting as she took off her dress Castle then said, "So you were serious?"

"I'm not sure," Beckett said honestly. When her husband looked at her in surprise she nodded outside and when he turned to look she said, "It might be a little cold and I'll be in a dress."

"Great point," Castle said. "I'm sure we'll be outside tomorrow," he added as he looked at the fat flakes of snow that were falling. He turned back to her when he suddenly jumped as she playfully smacked his chest with the back of her hand. "What?" he asked in surprise.

"Hurry," Beckett said easily, watching him. Once his shirt and jeans were off she went over to the ladder and said, "They might not like it here."

"I forgot about that," Castle said, as she was referring to the no diving notice on the end of the pool. "Still, you know they don't care as long as they can swim."

Immersing herself in the warm water Beckett didn't answer until she was back up and saw that he was under as well. Once he had resurfaced she told him, "We'll see if we even have time for it."

"Okay," Castle replied with a nod. "So… race?" he asked her.

"Let me take some laps, it's been a while since I could swim," Beckett said. "I think since Tahiti," she told him after thinking for a moment about that.

"I think so," Castle said before he nodded. He was a little startled when she leaned over to kiss him quickly but he let her go before going to the side of the pool to pull himself onto the edge to watch her. He had to wonder if she'd done the same thing with Darnley; and since he'd met the man; Jacobs though he had a sort of answer concerning the former. "Kate?" he asked when she had stopped going back and forth and was instead on her back swimming to him.

"Yeah?" Beckett said as she looked at him.

"There was a pool at the Academy right?" Castle asked.

"Mmm-hmm," Beckett replied, going to him and pulling herself out of the water. "Our instructor had us climb in and out to condition us, it was rough at first."

"So you swam with Patrick?" Castle then inquired.

"Not Fred but yes, Patrick," Beckett said. "Why, are you jealous?"

"Sort of, you wore a bathing suit?" Castle asked.

"No," Beckett said shortly. "We were in clothes. But my father moved to his apartment around that time so we swam there and yes, I was in a bikini."

Nodding Castle then said, "I'm jealous for a brief second before I remember the fact that he wouldn't be turned on by you." He then coughed slightly and muttered under his breath, "The fact he told me he wasn't helps."

Beckett looked at him but when he glanced back outside she decided it wasn't the best place to talk to him about that. Instead she told him, "We actually spent more time in the gun range."

"That doesn't surprise me," Castle commented. "How is he?"

"We were about even," Beckett replied. She couldn't help smile nostalgically and said, "Fred joined us once in a while but it was mostly me and Patrick alone in there as we could talk better."

Castle was going to comment on that when his wife slipped into the water and he joined her before saying, "You don't want to tell me about it?" as he knew that she was thinking about a specific instance.

"Maybe over dinner," Beckett replied. But as she ducked under the water to swim with him she couldn't stop thinking about when she and Darnley had discussed something she'd been a little shocked he'd talked to her about while they were practicing with their weapons.

* * *

 _"Getting nearer to graduating," Darnley commented to his friend as they walked over to where there were two firing points free next to each other._

 _"I know, why?" Beckett asked, relieved they were alone._

 _"No just thinking," Darnley said. "Chest or head?" he then asked before she could question him about that._

 _"Chest, Myers would be livid if he knew we were going for the head," Beckett said jokingly._

 _"Alright, we're going for coffees after," Darnley said as they got their guns ready first. "Whoever has the better shots gets a free one."_

 _"Okay and then we'll talk since you seem to want to," Beckett said, looking at him. She rolled her eyes when her friend merely put on his earphones and she then did the same. Firing her gun was slightly relaxing but she was still concerned about the final days they had left at the Academy. She thought at first it was going to affect her aim but when they brought the targets back to them she smiled and said, "Okay, so…" looking over at Darnley._

 _"I owe you a coffee," he said with a smile back at her. "Let's go while we have the chance."_

 _Beckett nodded and then after taking care of their weapons they left the building and walked to the nearest café where they decided to have an early lunch together. She had to wait for her friend to return to the table she was sitting at before they could discuss what they were talking about though he spoke before she did._

 _"So you're going right after graduation?" Darnley asked._

 _Giving him a look Beckett said, "Give me until after the weekend at least. What about you? Did you decide yet?"_

 _"I think I'll stay… for now," Darnley replied. "I'm still not sure if I want to settle myself here or head back home." He then smiled at his friend and feigned girlfriend and said, "But if I do stay we'll stick together right?"_

 _"I would shudder to think of being partners with someone else," Beckett said, shaking her head though she was smiling as they wouldn't have that much control over their careers though they'd agreed they'd try._

 _"Who knows, if it's a guy you might fall in love with him and get married," Darnley replied. He laughed under his breath as she gave him a look and shaking his head told her, "Kidding, but that's what I wanted to talk with you about."_

 _Beckett gave him a perplexed look and said, "You want me to get married to someone?"_

 _Looking around them Darnley shook his head and said, "We should probably talk at the park down the street."_

 _"Sure," Beckett replied. She knew that wasn't what he was talking about but she couldn't figure out why he'd brought up the subject. So she waited as patiently as she could until they were finished with their meal and with coffees in hand went to the park. As they walked down the middle of the path she slipped her arm into his and said, "Talk Darnley, you're confusing me like hell."_

 _Taking a deep breath he thought for a moment before telling her, "I get worried for you."_

 _"For me," Beckett stated._

 _"I saw how you were with that guy… what was his name?" Darnley asked her._

 _"Michael," Beckett said._

 _"Yeah, him," Darnley said with a nod. "You didn't seem like you were too eager to go out on your date."_

 _"Why would you think that?" Beckett asked._

 _"Because I know you Kate and you're eager to practice with me, for a new book or to see your father for a visit," Darnley replied. "But that date you put up a hell of a façade."_

 _"And how could you tell I was doing that? If I was," Beckett said quickly._

 _"Because you had a blank look in your eyes," Darnley said simply. "And considering you came home early that second date…"_

 _"Look," Beckett said, stopping and turning to him. "I can't just throw myself at a guy-"_

 _"I'm glad you don't but the fact you can't even be that… enthusiastic for it is worrying me," Darnley said. "What if you pushed yourself to pretend you were so far you got married to the guy? You're my friend Kate and I love you like a sister I'd always wished I had. I don't want you to be unhappy."_

 _Beckett studied him for a moment before she said, "It won't go that far."_

 _"Why?" Darnley asked. When she didn't reply and tried to walk away from him he grabbed her arm and said more firmly, "Kate, why?"_

 _"Because I'm not going to go so far with someone I can't love," Beckett said. When her friend looked startled she had him lead them to the nearest bench and sitting down she said, "It's happened since I started to date when I was sixteen."_

 _"Forcing yourself to date?" Darnley asked._

 _"Not that, I just don't feel the need to get all that invested in the guy," Beckett said._

 _"So it's easier to break up with him," Darnley said. He wasn't surprised when she looked at him and he nodded saying, "I had a friend back in DC who was like that it was more an issue of commitment though I don't think that's why you're doing that."_

 _Thinking of how she wanted to answer that Beckett then told him, "I think it's more I feel like it's something I have to do, date, marry… have kids. But I don't want to; it's why I rebelled a little when I was younger. I regret that though because my parents never did anything to make me feel the need to do that."_

 _"But that's not why you're doing that now," Darnley said. He wasn't surprised when his friend looked at him and he said simply, "I can tell. It's because of your mom isn't it?"_

 _"If I get close… I'll get hurt again," Beckett said, not looking at him._

 _"You can't know that," Darnley replied easily though he could tell from her posture that she was uneasy. He sighed and then said, "Have you thought of talking to a psychiatrist?"_

 _"He'd tell me the same," Beckett said. She shook her head and said, "Once I find whoever killed my mom I'm sure I'll be fine."_

 _"I don't know," Darnley said, following her as she stood up. "It might take a guy who's really in love with you to make you stop running from what you feel." He took the glare his friend leveled at him easily and told her, "I can tell that too. Believe me Kate, you can't run from what you feel."_

 _Beckett wanted to ask him why he'd said that twice but looking at him she knew that he was right about what he'd said and she sighed deeply before saying, "I'll see."_

 _Though he knew the matter was in no way resolved or had begun to be Darnley let it drop and holding up his arm said, "Continue?"_

 _"Please," Beckett said with a slight smile, putting her arm through his before they started to walk down the path again._

* * *

"So that's why he said what he did," Castle commented absently. When he saw his wife was looking at him questioningly he shook his head and said, "Did you ever think about what he'd told you?"

"Of course, why do you think I told you about that wall?" Beckett said simply. She and Castle had finished swimming a few races after their laps and were relaxing on the lounge chair. "Every time I broke off a relationship I could hear him in my mind, urging me to stop doing that."

"Breaking up with guys or entering into the relationship in the first place?" Castle asked.

"The latter," Beckett replied. "But he was quiet when I didn't let myself do anything with you for four years. Which is an honest surprise as I thought he would have taunted me mentally when you left with your ex for the Hamptons."

Shifting a little uncomfortably next to her Castle took her hand and then said, "I don't think he would have done that. And you know him well so that's probably why you didn't imagine him taunting you."

Studying him Beckett then said, "We should head back up to our room."

"Are you sure?" Castle asked in surprise. When she nodded he got up to let her get off the chair and held her dress as she took the towel that was wrapped around her waist off. "I'll tell you," he then said as he was zipping up the back of the sundress. "I think I have to now."

"I think so," Beckett told him in amusement. She then held his wrists and leaned into him so he'd bend down enough for them to kiss. It was very gentle and careful and when they parted she said, "I know and I am too."

"How did you know?" Castle asked in mock awe. He smiled when she pushed at him and he quickly put his clothes on over his swim trunks before taking his wife's hand. Walking back to their room he entwined their fingers, running his thumb over the space between her thumb and index finger. As they rode up in the elevator they weren't alone again and he murmured to her, " _Shower_?"

" _Of course_ ," Beckett replied with a smile before she squeezed his hand as tightly as she could. On their floor she let him lead the way to their room before she dragged him to the bathroom once he'd locked the door behind them.

Castle was a little startled but when his wife looked at him he realized her intent in her eyes. So he followed her and when she turned around to him he unzipped her dress before getting his clothes off. Looking to her he was startled again as she was there to press up against his body and he breathed out hard saying, "You want to now."

"No just, fool around," Beckett said with a smile. She brushed her lips to his and then walked away from him, grabbing his hand as she pulled him into the shower though they still had their bathing suits on.

His heart pounding as it had been some time since they'd done that Castle tried not to race to take off his wife's bikini as they kissed. Instead he held her close to him while their tongues were fighting together first in her mouth and then his once he'd drew her into it. Finally when they needed to breathe he very carefully untied the strings holding it on her before he set it on a shelf to his left. Gently he reached up and cupped her breasts, only allowing himself a moment for that before he was helping her with the bottoms in the same blue patterned fabric. Kissing her again he allowed her to push his trunks off his hips before he got them set on the shelf with her bikini. Naked he went to her and wrapped his arms around her tightly before he entwined his fingers on the small of her back. Leaning his forehead against hers then he said, "We need to finish this don't we?"

"We didn't even start," Beckett said in amusement. She brushed her lips against his and then began with washing her hair which he was quick to assist her with. Helping him with his own they kissed a few times before she allowed him to wash her body. At that point he took the fooling around that she'd told him seriously as he gently fondled her clit and breasts before she could rinse the soap off her body.

Castle, knowing that she was going to pay him back for what he'd done for her, tried his best to brace himself before she was meticulously cleaning his body. Hissing a few times while she was soaping his member he grabbed her wrist and said, "If you start I'm going to have to finish this."

"I'm not," Beckett said, brushing a kiss to his lower lip after she had spoken. "But later…"

"I have no idea what we'll do later but I hope your mind is bending the same way mine is," Castle told her as he stepped under the water to rinse off. As soon as he'd finished he went quickly to one of the towels and as soon as his wife was standing in front of him he began to dry her off.

Allowing him that, since he wasn't trying to be overtly sexual, Beckett did the same for him once her towel was wrapped around her. When she finished she didn't wait for him to wrap the towel around himself before she went out to the closet. Once there she picked out her dress and said, "Have fun."

"Wait, I should order now," Castle said as he watched her pass him in the doorway.

"You know what I like," Beckett replied easily with a slight smile over her shoulder before she disappeared into the bathroom and closed and locked the door behind her. After she had dried out her hair the best she could she got dressed, brushing out her hair before putting it up in a bun. Luckily she'd brought her comb and tucked it against the back of her head, starting last on her makeup which was quickly done. She smiled when; as she was putting away her lipstick; there was a knock at the door and she went to it, opening it to her husband to find he was in a dress shirt and trousers but no jacket.

"I feel severely under dressed," Castle said, looking his wife over.

"No it's enough for just the two of us in our room," Beckett was quick to reassure him. She smiled as he reached out to put his hand on her waist over the dark blue laced cap sleeved dress. "So," she told him. "What did you want?"

"Oh, my hair," Castle said, finally shaking himself. He let go of her reluctantly and then went over to the counter where his brush was, running it through his hair briefly before glancing at the mirror. "Dinner should be here in about a half hour," he told his wife as he went to her and took her by the hand. "We're having some pasta," he let her know.

"Sounds good," Beckett replied easily before she sat on the couch, looking at him. "So we have the time why don't you tell me what exactly it was that you and Patrick talked about the other night?"

Castle wanted to protest but then stopped himself as he could tell from the look on his wife's face that she wasn't going to let him get away with that. So he prepared himself and said, "It was after we'd had dinner and once their daughter was asleep. Trevor went to watch a soccer game and Patrick took me into his office. He asked me about myself."

At her husband's hesitation then Beckett said, "What exactly did he ask about you?"

"If I was still running around with bimbos or with a girl on each arm," Castle said.

"That's the first thing he asked you?" Beckett said. At her husband's nod she then said, "Alright keep going I'm really interested in hearing how this went now."

Castle couldn't help smile and he then continued with, "I assured him that I wasn't and hadn't been for a long time. And that's when he asked me to tell him my side of the story of our relationship." As he was telling her about his conversation with her friend he couldn't help remember it as he'd been unsure what the man; whom he'd just barely met that day; was going to do if Darnley thought that he was all wrong for Beckett.

* * *

 _After he'd ended with telling the man they were going to renew their vows their next anniversary Castle watched him closely to see his reaction, bracing himself for whatever it was going to be._

 _"That does sound like how Kate was back when we were in the Academy," Darnley said with a nod. "The bit where she was pushing you away. I'm not surprised either that you changed to be with her. She'll elicit that kind of reaction."_

 _"She does," Castle replied, nodding his head firmly. "But I'm doing my best to make her happy if that's what you're worried about."_

 _"I am," Darnley admitted. "I can't help feel protective of her but I think I would be a lot more reassured once she gets here and I see her." He then became serious and said, "How are you treating her intimately."_

 _"You-" Castle started to say before he cut himself off._

 _"I don't want details," Darnley said quickly. "You know I'm not interested in that, I just want to make sure you're not like the past lovers she told me about."_

 _"She told you about them?" Castle asked in surprise. When the man nodded he said, "Okay then to put it simply I satisfy her because I do my best to worship her."_

 _"Literally worship?" Darnley asked in surprise._

 _"Literally, ask her," Castle said._

 _"I don't know, she might kill me if I tell her I asked you this," Darnley replied. "But I don't think she would have stayed with you as long as she has if you didn't give her that. And of course the emotional satisfaction, Kate's more than just sex." He heard the man across from him mumble something and said, "Really? Does she know you think of her like that?"_

 _"She does," Castle replied, slightly embarrassed that he'd caught him saying he considered his wife pure sex. "But she knows I'm not with her for just that."_

 _"How is she as a mother?" Darnley then asked after they were quiet for a moment._

 _"She's great," Castle said, not realizing that he was speaking enthusiastically. "To tell you the truth my first ex wife; Alexis' mother; eventually left to work and also tour as an actress and I was on my own. So Kate's a lot better and she loves our daughters, you can tell when she's with them. You'll see when they're all here." He then thought of something and asked, "Did she ever talk to you about not wanting to have kids?"_

 _"It wasn't that she didn't want to have them, just not at that moment," Darnley explained. "She does like kids," he assured him. "But we were young back then so we didn't think seriously about having them. So I'm not surprised she loves your daughters. Speaking of them tell me about them a little. I'm wondering if either of them are taking after Kate."_

 _With a nod Castle then told the man a bit about the girls, smiling as he thought of them and missing them again greatly as he spoke. But he couldn't help also think of Beckett, wanting to get to the next day desperately to see her again._

* * *

"I'm… amused," Beckett told her husband when he'd finished telling her his story. "Mainly because you talked about our love life."

"It wasn't in detail," Castle reiterated as he'd told her that before. "Since he knew about your situation with not being pleasured then he just wanted to make sure I was doing that. By the way, he knew?"

"He could tell," Beckett said in slight embarrassment. "Don't ask how he found out, he just did."

Castle was going to speak then when there was a knock on the door and he stood with his wife before going to open it. He stepped aside for the man on the other side pushing a cart inside before setting a few things on the table. He tipped the man and once the door was closed after him said to his wife, "You're not mad at Patrick for asking about you as a mother are you?"

"No," Beckett said, smiling as she watched him open the bottle of wine he'd ordered. "We did talk about that, at the park where we watched the kids for a while. We saw some families there and just hypothesized about having them ourselves. Not together," she was quick to say as her husband helped her into her seat. "But just having them. And we wanted them like Patrick told you but not just then."

"I can imagine, you were both just about starting your careers," Castle said.

"Or in my case my first career," Beckett replied with a smile.

"There's one thing I've been wondering, especially now since you mentioned swimming with him at your father's place," Castle said. "Did he ever meet your father?"

"I told him he might not want to," Beckett told her husband seriously. "Since I'd told him about the problem he was having. But Patrick insisted and I had to eventually agree since the others in the class with us were asking if he'd met my father. We were faking it but it would lend the 'relationship' some credibility."

"Was there a problem?" Castle asked. He was going to continue that but decided not to try that and waited for her to answer.

"He wasn't drunk, which was helpful," Beckett said. She couldn't help recalling that moment again and then shook her head saying, "Sorry, I was seeing it again in my mind."

"That's alright, thinking about your past that's bound to happen," Castle told her. "If you want to just give me a summary go ahead."

"No I can tell it to you," Beckett replied. And as she began to speak she again recalled it, though the story was much shorter than the one she'd told him before at the pool.

* * *

 _"Dad," Beckett said once her father had opened the door. "Hey, how're you doing?"_

 _"Good and you?" Jim asked as he hugged his daughter._

 _"Great, this is Patrick Darnley," Beckett said as she stepped aside so her father could see the man. "Patrick this is my dad, Jim Beckett."_

 _"Mr. Beckett, it's nice to meet you," Darnley said, smiling at him a little nervously. "Kate's told me a lot about you."_

 _"She's said the same about you to me," Jim said with a nod. "Please, come inside."_

 _After they were in the living room Darnley looked around but didn't see many pictures and he looked at his friend as she went over to the kitchen with her father. "Kate told me that you're a lawyer," he said, clearing his throat first before he spoke._

 _"I am, corporate law," Jim replied. "So you're from DC?"_

 _"Yeah, well, not exactly the city," Darnley replied. "My family lives on an old plantation in Maryland about a half hour away from DC... I could do without the slavery connection but nothing I can do about that," he said, finishing a little nervously._

 _"What made you decide to go to police academy here?" Jim asked._

 _Before her friend could reply to that Beckett quickly asked him, "Would you like some juice to drink?"_

 _"That would be nice," Darnley said, nodding to the bottle she held out for him to see. He then turned to her father saying, "It was the best place to go and I wanted the challenge of leaving home for it too."_

 _"Well I wish you the best of luck, you sound like you're dedicated," Jim said with a brief smile for him._

 _"Thank you," Darnley said. He then became a little nervous and looking back and forth between his friend and her father he finally cleared his throat. When Jim looked at him he said, "I… I just wanted to let you know that I'm doing my best to treat your daughter with the utmost respect."_

 _Not realizing that his daughter was motioning behind him to her friend Jim said, "Well of course, that's why Katie's told me you're a good friend." Surprised at the man's stunned expression he told him, "You are gay aren't you?"_

 _"She told you?" Darnley asked, his voice going up in pitch slightly._

 _"She did and I don't mind," Jim said firmly. "We… I knew a friend of her mother's that was doing the same you were."_

 _"T-then I'm honored to have your daughter as a friend," Darnley told him seriously, swallowing a little hard._

 _"I'm glad to hear that," Jim said with a nod. "So why don't we eat now and you can tell me more about your plans once you two graduate."_

 _Following her father and friend Beckett felt relieved at the way the former was reacting to the latter as she could tell he approved of her classmate. She sat with them and listened in on their conversation before Darnley brought her into it by talking about their classes together._

* * *

"You told him beforehand?" Castle asked once his wife had finished relating the story.

"I did, he was going to be able to tell that we weren't even dating," Beckett said.

'That's true, a father does know," Castle said with a nod. "Luckily he knew that friend of your mom's."

"He still would have been fine with it," Beckett said. She then couldn't help smiling as she told her husband. "It was a little funny remembering how I was trying to motion to Darnley to get him to stop."

"Did they get along the rest of his visit?" Castle asked.

"They did, I think he felt more comfortable with my dad than his own," Beckett said. She then frowned and said, "Which is understandable considering."

"Remember my party Wednesday night?" Castle asked her then as he wanted to distract her.

"Yeah I can't forget that," Beckett said, turning her attention to him. She smiled and then said, "You want me to wear this dress?"

"N… I do," Castle began to say before trailing off and then telling her that. "But that's not what I wanted to say. Instead I'd like to invite them to join us."

"That would be nice," Beckett said with a nod. "I would have to hope that Patrick and Trevor could come though."

"I would text them now but I'm a little unsure I want to interrupt their evenings," Castle said, looking at his phone that was in front of them on the table.

"Texting them wouldn't be bad," Beckett urged him. "They're likely eating dinner right now themselves."

With a nod Castle then texted their friends and he and Beckett then began to discuss what they wanted to do for sure if they had Wednesday and Thursday free. While they were talking about that his phone then rang and he picked it up seeing it was a text from Darnley. "They're free, they just called Trevor's parents and they'll take Maddy again that night."

"And Skye and Mary?" Beckett asked with a smile as her husband's phone shook indicating another text.

"They're ready to go…" Castle said.

Beckett laughed slightly and said, "Great to see they're eager."

"Yeah, I guess they're not aware of what goes on during it," Castle said.

"No, I've told Skye," Beckett replied. "She'll likely watch the women that are there."

"They're not going to be that bad," Castle told her quickly. "But still, I can see what you mean." He then sent a thank you to the two messages and told his wife as he set his phone back down, "At least things'll be better with them there."

"Agreed," Beckett said, holding up her glass of wine before they tapped them together. She then leaned over and cupped her husband's cheek before they gently kissed one another and when they parted she gently ran her thumb over his lower lip.

Kissing it Castle said, "We're almost finished."

"Almost," Beckett echoed before they shared a brief kiss. She then said, "You know that the signing disrupts our plans a little."

"Not really since when it's over we can come back here, change and then go to the hotel it's at," Castle replied. "We just need to be at the bookstore at five remember."

"True," Beckett said. "And we can go straight there from wherever we go to last."

Since her tone of voice had become thoughtful then Castle asked, "What's on your mind?"

"Well you talked about the White House and the Octagon House," Beckett replied. "What about adding that museum we heard about today?"

"I'm all for it," Castle said. When his wife looked at him questioningly he smiled and then said, "So Thursday we're heading to Embassy Row?"

"I think so but there's got to be something else we can do besides that," Beckett replied. When her husband looked a little hesitant she asked him, "Yes Mr. Castle?"

Glancing at her over the side of his wine glass, Castle finished drinking the burgundy liquid before he said, "I got you a treatment at the spa here. For Thursday."

"Oh you did," Beckett said, one eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, it's the Cherry Blossom Treatment," Castle said, standing up. He grabbed a brochure and handed it to his wife, watching as she read it. "It'll be at five since our dinner reservation's at eight thirty."  
"Sounds interesting, did you get anything?" Beckett asked.

"Just for you," Castle said. He was relieved when his wife kissed him then and when they'd parted he told her, "Great I was hoping you'd do it."

"I'll smell like cherry blossoms," Beckett warned him with a smile. When he nodded she couldn't help laugh and she embraced him tightly before they were kissing again. Once they'd parted she then asked him about what else they could do until her massage and they discussed their options until they'd finished eating and the dinner plates were outside in the hall.


	16. My Thoughts Return To You (Part 2)

"So I'm wondering if I should text Patrick," Castle said as they sat back at the table together to eat their dessert.

"He would have-" Beckett began when his phone in front of them gave off his text alert noise.

"Now he's reading my mind," Castle said jokingly as he grabbed the phone. " _Checked all the names we could and found nothing suspicious with Jodie's father_ ," he read to her. " _We started on names she knows but not much luck before we went home. Will start ASAP tomorrow_."

"I had a feeling," Beckett said. She frowned and said, "I have to wonder though if it would be that easy to find the killer if they were hired."

"Want me to text him back?" Castle asked. When she nodded he quickly did so and when he soon after got a message read it saying, " _We thought of that but we'll have to try tomorrow to look into financials of any enemies of Senator Sumner. And friends, I know you two would suggest that_." He smiled and said to his wife, "He knows us well."

"I guess so," Beckett replied. "Let's just hope we get something soon because there's still that threat."

Reaching over to her Castle gently squeezed his wife's hand gently before he took some of the fruit tart with his fork. "Do you want to keep talking about the case?" he asked her after she'd eaten her bite as well.

"We don't need to since we're not really going to be able to do much here in this hotel room," Beckett replied.

"Good point," Castle said. He let her have the last bite before he took that plate and their empty glasses into the hall with the other plates. Going back into the room he saw that his wife was sitting on the couch and he paused as he walked over to her.

"What?" Beckett asked in surprise as she saw the slightly troubled look on his face.

"I didn't exactly finish telling you about what Patrick and I talked about," Castle confessed, sitting next to her then.

"Oh?" Beckett said interestedly. When he didn't continue she said, "Should I be worried he's this concerned about our love lives?"

"It's more he wants to make sure that you're being well treated," Castle said. "He asked if I was forcing you into anything and I said no. Asked about if we did bondage." There he stopped and looked questioningly at her, not sure why her friend would have asked him that.

"We were fairly open about that," Beckett said. "Our love lives," she said quickly to further explain it. "But more what we would and wouldn't do. He wasn't really that eager for bondage and neither was I."

"So all that teasing?" Castle asked her.

Beckett merely smiled and then said, "I never was that deep into a relationship to be prodded into trying it. About the only bondage I ever did was when we used to use my handcuffs."

"No," Castle said simply then when his wife looked at him slightly startled. "I don't want us going back to that," he explained to her, knowing she was going to ask. Standing up he went to get his phone before he said, "We don't need to you realize."

"I still have to ask," Beckett said, watching him. From his stance standing next to the table she said, "What else did he say to you?"

"I don't know how… maybe from a past visit here to DC," Castle began reluctantly, forcing himself to look at his wife. "He'd heard about my past… proclivities."

"What did you do here?" Beckett asked, not surprised at that.

"I think something with vodka, cotton and… carabiners? I really don't remember," Castle answered slowly.

"That would likely be the vodka," Beckett said. "So that explains why he was asking you about all of that."

Nodding and relieved she didn't seem to be too mad Castle said, "He mentioned that he wanted you to be respected professionally and he was sure you were. So that just left me respecting you at all times. I assured him I did." He then sighed and said, "That took a while."

"I'll have to talk to him," Beckett said.

"Think he'd believe you?" Castle asked as she stood up and walked over to him.

"When I tell him in detail what we do," Beckett replied. She smirked at her husband when he looked at her with wide eyes and said, "Why didn't you just do the same?"

"I-I," Castle started to say before he stopped when she put her hand on his chest. "I've been concerned."

"You've never led me so far I have to force you to stop," Beckett told him firmly, wrapping her arms around his neck before she gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "I've never been faking my own pleasure because you've left me behind while taking yours." Another kiss and she then said, "And I have never missed a man as much as I missed you these past eight days."

After she'd kissed him Castle asked, "Are you talking about in general or…" When she shook her head to that before he could finish asking he couldn't help suck in a deep breath of air. "The same for me with you… though I don't know that I could really fake my pleasure."

"You could," Beckett said slowly. She looked at her husband and laughed slightly when he shook his head before they shared a kiss. She was slightly startled when it was very gentle but deliberate and once they'd parted she leaned her forehead against his saying, "Is that all?"

"That was it," Castle said, nodding a little. "He apologized to me, just let me know he wanted to make sure about you."

"Hopefully once I talk to him he won't have any doubts," Beckett said. "And seeing you wanting to do… something to Churchill probably convinced him a little more."

"I think so," Castle said with a nod.

"So," Beckett then said after they'd kissed but much more quickly that time. "What song?"

"You know me too well," Castle said, letting go of her with only one arm to grab his phone.

Listening to the opening of the song Beckett smiled and then wrapped her other arm quickly around his neck before they began to sway while the lyrics began.

 _All alone in this world of mine  
Not a care for this world have I  
Only you keep my eyes open wide  
Yes it's true  
I live for you_

 _Not a thing in this world do I own  
Only sadness and from all that is grown  
In this darkness I wait for the day  
Yes it's true  
I live for you_

 _For many years I wait  
For many tears I wait_

 _All this time my thoughts return to you  
Give my love, that's all I can do  
Wait in line till I feel you inside  
Yes it's true  
I live for you_

 _For many years I wait  
For many tears I wait_

 _All this time my thoughts return to you  
Give my love, that is all I can do  
Wait in line till I feel you inside  
Yes it's true  
I live for you_

As the song ended Castle was taking his wife's lips in a hungry kiss and when they parted he looked into her eyes deeply before saying, "I hate to echo the song but it _is_ true."

"I'm glad to hear that but the song is a little depressing," Beckett said. "Some of the lyrics." She brushed her lips against his and was about to grab for the phone when he beat her to it. She gave him a look but waited for him to find a song before it began to play, making her smile in amusement. "We haven't danced to this one in a while," she told him as he wrapped his other arm around her.

Until the first lyrics were sung Castle started to kiss at his wife's temple before his lips were taking hers and they were soon hungrily kissing.

Carefully pulling away from him Beckett smiled at her husband and then pressed her cheek against his as she was listening to the words. "I love you," she managed to whisper into his ear as soon as the first line was sung.

"I love you too Kate," Castle said before they were quiet and continued to sway. "Maybe another dance after this?" he said quickly. He smiled when she shook her head with a smile and then pressed his cheek to hers again while he held her close.

 _To lead a better life, I need my love to be here_

 _Here, making each day of the year  
Changing my life with the wave of her hand  
Nobody can deny that there's something there_

 _There, running my hands through her hair  
Both of us thinking how good it can be  
Someone is speaking but she doesn't know he's there_

 _I want her everywhere and if she's beside me  
I know I need never care  
But to love her is to need her everywhere  
Knowing that love is to share_

 _Each one believing that love never dies  
Watching her eyes and hoping I'm always there_

 _I want her everywhere and if she's beside me  
I know I need never care  
But to love her is to need her everywhere  
Knowing that love is to share_

 _Each one believing that love never dies  
Watching her eyes and hoping I'm always there_

 _I will be here, there and everywhere  
Here, there and everywhere_

"Better?" Castle asked jokingly.

"It is," Beckett said, letting him lead her over to the couch. She sat down before he joined her as she looked at the view outside the window behind them.

"Sorry the view's mostly the river," Castle said, watching her.

"Have I ever minded the water?" Beckett asked him with a smile. When he just looked at her she leaned over and kissed him saying, "I've enjoyed the room so far. But mainly because you're here."

"So if I wasn't you wouldn't really like it?" Castle asked, smiling back at her.

Pretending to think that over Beckett said, "Oh, I don't know that bed all to myself…"

With that Castle leaned over and kissed her very gently before he then placed his hand on her knee. As his wife's arms wrapped around him he then moved to wrap his arms around her waist and they then began to hungrily duel as long as they could until they needed to breathe. Looking into her eyes he murmured her name and then leaned down to brush his lips against hers before he pressed his hands on the small of her back to hold her close to him.

Running her hands over his cheeks Beckett smiled and murmured, "Do you think we could… wait before we run over there?"

Since they were pressing their foreheads together Castle wasn't surprised to feel her slightly nod towards the bed. "I agree, it might be nice to take our time right now," he told her seriously as he pulled back enough to look into her eyes.

Beckett couldn't help smiling at how readily he agreed with her and she reached up gently to cup his cheek with her hand before she then felt him reaching down to cover her knee with his hand again. She looked down and watched it slide up her leg until he reached the hem of her dress. Her eyes went to his and she leaned forward so they could kiss again. They were a little rough at first before he then slowed down and she couldn't help sighing mentally and relaxing fully before they parted. She pressed herself against his side and pressed her cheek to his shoulder. "You know," she told him. "I wonder if we should."

"Now you don't want to slow down?" Castle asked her. But when she smiled and then stood he said, "What're you thinking?"

"Nothing," Beckett said simply, not looking at him. She heard him soon stand up but kept her eyes away from him she turned and was suddenly running into him. "How…" she started to say, looking around before she felt his arms around her.

"Not a perfect performance love," Castle said when she finally turned to look at him.

"Maybe I wasn't trying to make it one," Beckett replied, then allowing herself to wrap her arms around him as tightly as she could. She wasn't surprised when he crushed his lips to hers and they were hungrily dueling each other, fighting nearly to try and overtake the other though in the end they didn't really put enough effort into it to win. They kept that up until stopping to breathe and she said, "I think, we can start."

Castle was a little surprised but he followed her over to the table where he helped her get on top of it. He breathed out as she immediately spread her legs and he asked her seriously, "You're sure?"

"Sure," Beckett said very simply before pulling him down to her for another kiss.

Castle waited; though he really didn't want to; for them to stop before he very carefully pushed her skirt up her legs. They were both watching him while he was doing that and he couldn't help the strangled sound he made when he saw first that she was naked beneath the dress. "Kate," he breathed out.

"For you love," Beckett told him, moving carefully to perch herself on the edge for him.

For a moment Castle wasn't quite sure what he wanted to do and he stared at his wife before he placed his hands on her shoulders. Running them down her arms he stopped before he could reach her elbows and said, "No."

"No?" Beckett asked in slight amusement as she'd expected him to do that already.

"Yes, I like your idea of going back to going slow," Castle told her firmly. He helped her down from the table and then wrapped his arms around her before beginning to sway with her.

"No music?" Beckett asked. When he mumbled a few words she smiled widely and pressed her cheek to his. After some time of silence between them she told her husband, "You were serious." She felt instead of saw his nod and she told him a little worriedly, "You don't need to do this to prove anything to Patrick."

Pulling away Castle told his wife seriously, "Not him; you."

Beckett wanted to protest that but looking into his eyes she saw that he was completely serious and she sighed before saying, "What do you have to prove?" Before he could answer that she told him, "I told you already everything you do to me."

"Yes but I like to show you how much I enjoy the fact that you're nothing like the women I used to be with," Castle said firmly, his hands running up and down her back as they slowly came to a stop. "And that I enjoy it… immeasurably."

Beckett gently ran her hands down from where they'd been clasped on the back of his neck to his shoulders and she watched them run further onto his chest. "I have to agree with you and tell you I feel the same way about you," she told him with a slight smile. That soon fell off her face though as he then moved his hands onto her. Her breath shortened as they spent some time starting to stroke at each other repeatedly wherever they could. She wasn't sure when it happened but eventually she realized that she was trembling, looking up at her husband she opened her mouth to speak when he led her to the couch.

Instead of letting her sit Castle instead gently laid her down and watched as she looked up at him before he sat next to her. He could turn enough towards her to touch her where he pleased but as he studied her he made a decision and went down to her feet.

Watching him there was something in Beckett that wasn't really surprised when he took off her heels, stroking her feet as he did so. She arched her back and sighed as he then massaged them and said, "You're going to give me a massage first?"

"Yep," Castle said very simply. He then let go of her before going up to her where he pulled her up to sit. Holding her hands by the wrists he leaned down and kissed at both her palms before he told her, "Turn around."

"Really?" Beckett asked.

"I'll be right back," Castle said, kissing her before he got up.

Watching him going over to the bathroom Beckett didn't move as he'd asked her to do and instead waited. Once he got back to her she said, "You wanted me to still smell like roses," a smile on her face.

"If you want you can massage me wherever you want with this stuff they've got in the bathroom for men," Castle said hopefully.

Beckett's response to him was a brief peck on the lips before she got onto her knees. While he was unzipping her dress she reached up and took her comb out before handing it back to Castle. As he was setting it on the table she took the pins holding the bun up and she turned back to him after her hair fell around her shoulders. Once he was back with her she kissed him gently on the lips and said, "Help me with this or else there won't be any massages." She moved her arms to help him get the top of her dress down around her waist and wasn't surprised when he reached up to gently cover her bared breasts. Wrapping her arms around him she watched with him as he caressed her mounds gently for a while. Once he'd stopped she then gave him another kiss before she turned around to lie on her stomach. She looked over her shoulder as her husband got some of her lotion onto his hand and then turned to her.

With Beckett watching him Castle then began to rub his hands over her back, hearing her sigh at his first touch before he then massaged her in earnest. He was a little surprised to feel a number of knots as he worked over it and once he was nearly finishing he asked her, "Was it that stressful without me there to help you?"

"Not exactly," Beckett said. "I think I was making myself stressed," she said with a heavy sigh as she felt fully relaxed at that point. She then got up as he stopped touching her and turned around to face him with a smile before she cupped his cheek in her hand and kissed him gently. She was a little taken aback when he cut her off and grabbed her, pulling her against his body as she gasped heavily. They were passionate for as long as they could be until finally they very slowly moved from one another. She sighed again and said, "Help me."

"Mind if I lodge a quick protest?" Castle asked her. When she just gave him a look he grumbled under his breath jokingly before he did as she'd asked. "So-" he began to say before she then covered his mouth with his hand.

"You didn't let me finish," Beckett told him with a smile. "And I was going to tell you that I was trying not to show everyone how much I really missed you. That was a stress." Moving her hand away from her husband's mouth she then said thoughtfully, "I don't think I fooled your mother."

"I'm not surprised, she's very hard to fool," Castle said with a nod. He shared a brief kiss with her and said, "What would you like to do now?"

"I think I want you to lie on the bed," Beckett said before she stood up, taking his hand. "Come on," she said as she then pulled him over to the bed. When he slowed down as they got close to it she turned to him and asked, "What is it?"

"I need to wash my hands and get my oil," Castle told her.

"It's oil?" Beckett said while he went over to the room.

"Yeah, some special… whatever," Castle said absently. He saw something out of the corner of his eye and nearly jumped when he saw his wife in the doorway. "I'm taking too long?" he asked.

"No, I'm wondering what has your attention," Beckett replied with a smile.

"The snow," Castle said.

Going over to the window above the tub Beckett could see the snow was falling more thickly and she said slightly troubled, "I hope this eases up tomorrow."

"Yeah… well the one good thing is the killer is likely still here," Castle pointed out as he went over to her, handing her the bottle.

Turning her attention from the window and the case Beckett said, "Instead of whatever it's musk."

"Let me see," Castle said, opening the bottle and then sniffing slightly at it. "Oh, okay, what do you think?" he asked to let her do the same.

"These two are going to be mixing together tonight," Beckett told him with a smile.

"Then let's get started," Castle told her. He let her lead the way to the bed before he sat down on the edge of the bed as she stood next to him. While she watched him he unbuttoned his shirt before pulling it off and tossing it aside to the floor. "I kind of wish you'd done that," he told his wife as he hopped up on the bed.

"I'll do it again later," Beckett replied as she pulled the skirt of her dress up enough for her to get onto it. She got her hands prepped and as soon as they were she began to rub them over his back. She was a little taken aback to feel the knots in his skin and she smiled saying, " _You too_?"

" _Yes, even though I didn't need to hide how I was feeling from anyone_ ," Castle told her with a slight smile as he was looking over his shoulder as she'd done with him. He then put his chin on his arms that were on the pillow and closed his eyes to focus all his attention on the way he felt every time his wife touched his skin.

When she soon after finished working over his back Beckett thought for a moment that her husband had fallen asleep when he suddenly turned over which made her smile. "Not relaxing enough for you?" she asked him.

"Oh believe me it was," Castle replied. "I just can't fall asleep yet."

Glancing down at his groin when he'd said that Beckett leaned over and kissed him firmly on the mouth before she was quickly pulling away since she didn't want to linger. Smiling again at him as his fingers wove through her hair as she moved she said, "I think we need to disrobe."

"I completely agree," Castle said, sitting up then so they could start. Since all his wife had on was her dress he was soon helping her, unzipping it and sitting on the edge of the bed so he could assist her in getting it off. He watched her walk over to the chez to set it there and said, "You're still going to wear it Wednesday night?"

"I said I would," Beckett said simply as she smiled at him. Going back to where he was standing she helped him with his trousers before she waited for him to discard them. His boxers were taken care of in the same fashion and she then made him bend down enough for her to whisper into his ear gently.

Castle's response to that was a brief shake of his head before he picked up his wife and nearly threw her on the bed. Before Beckett could protest his turning down her suggestion to pleasure him using the oil he told her, "Not when I'm going to be inside of you very soon. I hope."

"You will," Beckett said with a smile. "So now what?"

Castle studied his wife for a moment before he then suggested, "Why don't we do what we did earlier when you were walking around and teasing me?" He was pleased when she sat up in response to that and they kissed a few times; very brief kisses that soon delved into more sensuous ones before they seemed to have forgotten that they were supposed to be touching each other as well. When his lungs were aching a little for air he said, panting, "Weren't we supposed to fool around?"

"That could be fooling around too…" Beckett said. She shared a look with her husband and they laughed together heavily before she kissed him deeply though briefly. Moving away she started to reach out to begin stroking his chest when he suddenly beat her, his hands cupping at her breasts. Gasping slightly she watched him slide his fingers up so they were covering the nipples and she said, "I thought… I thought we'd be pleasuring one another," murmuring as she couldn't find it in herself to raise her voice that high.

"I don't think we will now," Castle said. "I don't have that urge to anymore. Do you?" He wasn't surprised when she shook her head no and he said, "Then why don't we start?"

"Okay," Beckett said before he leaned over to her. She shivered as he kissed at her ear and then said into it, " _Like in Tahiti_." As he moved back she couldn't help smile as she told him, "We had a lot of positions then Rick."

"We did but the most yoga position possible," Castle said. "You on top first…" he said.

Watching him in amusement Beckett said, "You're thinking of changing it already aren't you?"

"I just thought of your stress; you rode Alex and Julius while I was gone," Castle stated instead of asking. At her quick nod he then told her hurriedly, "I'd like a turn with you now."

Sighing Beckett said, "Riding you and riding the horses aren't the same."

"Which is why I'm not jealous of them," Castle told her firmly. When she just looked at him he beamed at her, knowing that would likely help him before she kissed him and he knew he'd won out.

Waiting for Castle to lay back Beckett watched him closely as he did so. She wasn't in the least bit ashamed that she was ogling his erection which was so rigid it was on his stomach. She smiled as he gave her a questioning look and told him, " _I like to see what's mine_."

Since that was accompanied by a slight smirk Castle coughed and said, " _Mind if I do the same with you_?"

" _Our rings say we're each other's_ ," Beckett told him. When he groaned loudly she leaned over and kissed him deeply before they had to breathe again. Parting she went to his lap and with his help she moved until he was inside of her and at the same time her legs were crossed on him. "You're lucky you thought of this position," she teased him as she worked her muscles around him.

Grunting as he thrust up against her; what they did in that position after trying it the first time; Castle managed somehow to tell her, "I would have changed it whatever it was." He hissed heavily as she took his hands while he spoke and brought them up to her breasts. With her permission with that he proceeded to fondle them and felt his mouth watering as he stared at her. "I love… this… I wasn't kidding… you fucking _need_ to be… worshiped," he told her as he was breathing harder while he was trying his best to move harder against her.

Beckett felt her cheeks heating up a little but she didn't say anything in response, mainly because she was trying to see if she could use her grip on his arms as leverage. It worked a little as she was soon able to move on him instead of just her muscles. Gasping at the sensation of the short jerks they made against one another she felt as if her entire lower body had exploded. It had heavy bursts of heat and she wasn't sure she was going to be able to last that long when all of a sudden her husband had stopped. "Why-" she asked him.

"It's not enough," Castle tried to explain, not sure if she would understand. But when she moved to straddle his lap with her legs he breathed out in relief and then watched her begin to move on him once more. He had to push himself up but didn't mind it at all as he was soon after able to thrust against her. Their hips crashing together he couldn't believe the difference in sensation and how much better it was when they could both move. Kissing her wildly then reflected his desire a little before they were soon parting and he moved down to her neck.

Shuddering as her husband worked over her pulse on both sides Beckett soon looked on while he was going down to her breasts. She had expected him to take them, could almost sense that he wanted them, but when he instead pressed his hand he wasn't using for leverage against the small of her back she cried out his name. "Wh-why?" she stammered slightly as she suddenly and inexplicably wanted to hear from him what he wanted her to do.

"Because," Castle found was the best explanation. He was relieved when she didn't try to make him explain it any better than that and he said, "Just like that Kate… a little faster… ugh… a little faster if you can." He wasn't too surprised when she leaned into him at that instruction and he hissed out her name with a slight curse as her taut nipples were rubbing against him hard. His own were stimulated as well, more so when she reached up to rub one of them as her other hand was on his shoulder for support for herself. He wasn't sure how long he let her do that but finally moved his hand onto the back of her head to bring her down to him.

Their kiss was heavy and intense and Beckett wasn't sure how they could do that and breathe at the same time. Her body was warm, hypersensitive and radiating pleasure so much so that she was slightly frightened of losing all control. But she decided she could delay it a little as the idea of playing with her husband's idea for that position struck her then. When they'd stopped kissing she gently pushed both hands against his chest and as soon as he was laying back she was smiling at him and his confusion that was clearly etched on his face; finding him adorable in that moment.

"What is it?" Castle asked, unsure what her smile really meant. He was surprised when she leaned over to rest her hands on his shoulders and he watched her rock her hips against him. A word left his mouth, though what that word was he couldn't figure out as he could easily feel her clit against his skin. Breathing hard at the sensation of that a few more times he grabbed her arms, watching her continuing around him. She was very tight and hot and he was sure he was going to burn. And he told himself; and Beckett as well as he spoke without realizing it; that he would do it willingly.

"Do what?" Beckett asked, her voice distorted from her own joy.

"Burn… just don't stop," Castle told her a little deliriously.

It was then that Beckett decided she needed to change again and she sat up straight before she stretched her right leg in front of her, over his shoulder. It wasn't something she'd tried before; though she'd thought of it; and she was screaming her husband's name in shock when that first thrust in that position was enough to break her. She let it happen though she was having a hard time moving that well and nearly fell over the edge again as her husband was joining her. His release was felt a little more intensely with the way her leg was stretched and she didn't realize that she was telling him that before going back to chanting his name until she was utterly spent.

Since it took him a little longer to be at that point Castle had been able to hear her and he groaned as it added to the way it felt being within it. It was almost as if his length was being strangled very gently and he didn't want it to stop as it was nearly a delicious torture. But soon it did and he sighed in frustration as he stopped moving and he watched through half lidded eyes as his wife got off of him and collapsed onto her back. Without a word to her he went to her, kissing her deeply before they were running their hands over each other as they'd done before. He let that go on for as long as possible before he was pulling away from her, breathing roughly as he said, "That was… incredible."

"It was," Beckett said, smiling. "You did show me that you love me," she told him. She tried not to laugh when he grunted, his arm across his eyes, and she turned onto her side to caress his face. "Hmm, you know what love?" she asked him. At another grunt she told him, "You can have your turn now."

Raising his head and looking at her Castle shuddered hard and said, "Just like that?"

"Just like that," Beckett replied with a smile. She wasn't surprised when her husband almost lunged at her so she was able to meet him for his hungry kiss. She fought against his tongue eagerly until he was the first to pull away before helping her up. She expected him to push her against the headboard once she was on her knees and looking back over her shoulder she tensed slightly as he ran his hand over her ass. "We talked about this too," she said.

"Who- wait you want to talk about him now?" Castle asked, not surprised that his voice sounded a little strangled.

"Maybe," Beckett said. "Just that I didn't want to do that and I still don't." She was surprised when he laughed slightly and then leaned over, kissing the back of her shoulder before she said, "What?"

"He asked me about that too," Castle said, pressing close against her. "Demanded I never force you into that and I assured him I didn't want to do, or do it if it made you unhappy. Okay?"

"Yes hurry," Beckett told him as he reached in front of her and then began to rub at her clit. It was still a little sensitive so she couldn't stop herself from moving against him before she had to reach down and grab his wrist. "Not yet," she said.

"Okay, are you ready?" Castle asked as he moved his hand from her grip to touch the top of her thigh. When she immediately spread her legs in response he tried not to smile and then with her help and his hand on her hip he moved inside of her. Both of them groaned; which he loved hearing; until he was fully coupled with her. Breathing out her name he told her, "God, I love you Kate."

"I know, I love you too Rick," Beckett said as they were very still then. "Please, you can move now."

Kissing the top of her shoulder Castle allowed himself to go down it until he was pulling back to move. He held onto her hip again with one hand and with the other he placed it on top of her hand on the headboard. The first of his thrusts was rough and he felt a thrill at the cry that came out of his wife's mouth in response. That spurred him on and he was amazed to feel that she was already aroused once more. "I'm so-" he began to say.

Reaching back with her free hand to grip the back of his head Beckett cried out, "Don't, don't say it you don't have to apologize. This was what I wanted!" She was then reduced to breathing hard, trying her best to maintain the speed that he'd set. It was a little difficult at first but she soon relied on her left hand for her leverage. Once she didn't need to worry about that she could focus on her husband and how he felt within her. Castle was deep and she lamented the motion that withdrew him nearly completely from her. She was a little surprised that he'd chosen that position and told him so before he was stopping. "Oh… oh no Rick, please," she begged him, breathing hard. She was startled when he didn't say a word, merely kissed what he could of her behind her before he whispered in Irish into her ear. The arousal she felt from his words were enough to make her tremble and she nodded before she was; what felt like; suddenly on her back with him above her. His eyes were nearly black with his arousal and she was sure she was going to pass out that bout. That led her to then say, "Make me faint love, overwhelm me while you're pounding into my pussy with your cock." A second later he was within her and she was holding onto him, crying out his name as she wrapped her arms and legs around him tightly in response, wondering how long she could last with the fire she saw in his eyes.

For a moment Castle held himself still, wanting to throw her off a little as she looked at him with slightly widened eyes. But after that moment had passed he proceeded to thrust, groaning as she gasped out his name. The pause was enough to renew the sensation of them moving together and he tried not to curse at how pleasurable it was. She was still warm and when she started to flex her muscles around him she was even tighter around him. He sped up a little more and watched her before he remembered what she'd begged him for which made him immediately stop. "Were you serious?" he asked her, breathing hard as he watched her.

"I… yes," Beckett said as she realized what he was talking about. She was a little frustrated at the sudden pause between them but she had to admit she was interested to see if he could actually make her faint or not. So she watched him until he finally began to move again and she cried out softly at the sensation of him trying to get even deeper within her. He was slightly successful and she tried to wrap her legs a little higher around his waist though she could only go so far. When he stopped again she sighed as she had to face the fact that he was going to be doing that repeatedly. When he looked at her she told him, "You're going to have to make things up to me."

"You… what?" Castle asked, startled.

Unable to help smiling at his expression Beckett grabbed him and pushed him down to her breasts, looking on as he immediately started to suckle at her right nipple. She shifted a little at the way it felt and she finally gave in to her urge to moan as he then reached up with one hand and began to fondle at her other mound. The pleasure was very quick and her sex seemed to jump a little in response to it. She was so focused on it that she nearly didn't notice that he was moving again. Crying out for her husband not to stop she wasn't in the least surprised when he didn't listen to her, stopping again a bit later. "Rick…" she moaned before he moved from her breasts to her lips to kiss her.

From that point on the two were pausing and starting repeatedly until they couldn't do it any longer. At one point Castle lunged his legs against his wife to help him move faster and it was then they knew they were too close to stop.

"Love," Castle told her, watching her intently as he was moving. "If I pass out-"

"Please, just… let me come," Beckett moaned, digging her nails into his shoulders as she did her best to keep moving with him the best she could. "I want to… to feel you too… Oh god Rick I'm coming! Please! I love you, please Rick!" she nearly screamed as the orgasm felt abrupt and was intense at the same time. She kept calling his name as he then joined her, everything in her building up to such a degree that she couldn't handle how strong the ecstasy was and was soon losing consciousness as it took over her body completely.

"Kate… love…" Castle was groaning as he was watching her body suddenly slump fully to the bed beneath him. He couldn't stop himself as her sex was moving around him, still taking him in, and that was the last thought he had before he was doing the same as her and surrendering to the pleasure that made him pass out as well.

For some time the room was quiet until Beckett was the first to come to, looking at her husband as he seemed to immediately do the same. "Rick?" she asked as he awoke groaning heavily.

"Sorry… I'm sore all of a sudden," Castle explained. He carefully pulled away from her before lying on his back and once she was pressed against his side, her cheek to his shoulder, he told her, "Want to just fool around now?"

Beckett smiled; since for them it just meant touching to induce any orgasms and wasn't something they often did; but since she was feeling a little tired herself she said, "That would be nice." Since her gaze was towards the window she then caught sight of the chez and said, "Come on."

Castle was a little startled but did as she said and got up with her off the bed before he followed her to the couch. He took her dress at her direction and laid it on the table so she could get it to hang it up the next day. "Should I grab some blankets?" he asked her.

"One more, I have one in my hands," Beckett said as she placed it on the couch before getting onto it on her knees. She smiled at her husband as he walked over to her with two blankets and said, "I thought we could share the one."

"Just in case," Castle told her as he tossed the spare blanket on the end of the bed. Opening the other he then went over to her and wrapped it around himself before his wife moved to sit on his lap. "How're you feeling?" he asked her.

"Good, why?" Beckett said, studying him. But she soon realized why he'd said that and she said, "I'm not telling Patrick about tonight."

"Then at least reassure him," Castle said. He smiled when his wife laughed and he leaned over to kiss her gently. When she immediately responded to him he deepened it slightly before they parted and he gently ran his hand over her hair. "I remember," he told her, his voice slightly husky. "When we first met I thought that I'd love to see you smile."

"Is that why you constantly tried to?" Beckett asked, taking his hand and kissing the palm before she pressed it to her left breast and made him squeeze it gently. Sighing she smiled as he started to kiss her shoulder and told him, "I didn't mind as time went on; and I got used to you."

"You're still okay with that," Castle said. When his wife smiled at him again he murmured, "You're a stunning woman Kate."

"You're not too bad yourself," Beckett replied seriously though a smile soon spread across her lips. She leaned in to him as he was doing the same to her and they kissed deeply before slowly parting. "Hmm, let me…"

At that Castle let go of her so she could move to straddle him and he looked on as she grasped his erection. "Easy," he gasped when she gently squeezed around him.

"I know what I'm doing," Beckett said teasingly. "Just because I haven't done this for a week doesn't mean I don't remember."

"I know… you do," Castle said, grunting. He let her do that for some time, watching her as she'd moved away enough for him to see and amazed at the way she touched him everywhere she could. Finally he had her stop and made her press up against him before their tongues were meeting after their kiss began. Holding on to her tightly he ran his hands around her hair and back and he froze when a second later he realized that she was starting to move against him.

Beckett wasn't surprised when her husband moved her gently away from him and she said in amusement, "You want me to touch you?"

"Please?" Castle asked hopefully.

"Alright but you have to do the same to me," Beckett said. At his eager nod she couldn't help laughing and leaned over to kiss him lovingly before she took him back into her hands.

Castle held onto his wife and brought her to him so they could kiss deeply a few times before he had to lean back against the side of the chez for support. He was groaning heavily in pleasure before all of a sudden she was letting go of him and moving down to take his length into her mouth. Keeping his eyes on her he groaned heavily at the sensation of her working over him before he said, "Love… I'm going to…"

Beckett squeezed his hand gently to thank him for the warning and she looked up at him while he was losing control in his pleasure. She was fairly proud at the way he was calling her name repeatedly and the tone he was using, not stopping moving over him until he had finished. She wasn't surprised when he slumped back against the couch and she moved up to him where she began to kiss over his jaw until she reached his lips.

Their tongues meeting and curling together once his wife had slipped hers into his mouth Castle held onto her as tightly as he could before he let his hand slide down from the small of her back to cup her ass. Squeezing it gently he loved the way she jumped in reaction to that and he smiled as she also managed to pull away from him at the same time. "Here," he then said, moving her around to lie on top of the blanket that had been around him. He started to kiss over her body, wherever he could reach, and gently flicked his tongue out after he'd pressed a few to her skin.

Trembling slightly in pleasure at the feel of him Beckett reached down and gently ran her fingers through his hair a few times. When he slid to her sex she soon began to scratch at his scalp as she cried out heavily. Feeling the pleasure radiating in her at her husband's tongue and lips working together all over her clit and inside of her she tried to hold out a little longer than she knew she was going to, mainly because she could feel her pleasuring her husband had pushed her already. "Oh… Rick…" she gasped when he moved away to kiss the inside of her thighs, saying that in a little relief.

Kissing her for a bit longer Castle then went back to pleasuring her straight on and didn't stop until he could hear her cries becoming stronger. As she climaxed he held onto her tightly to make sure she wouldn't move too much and watched her closely while she lost control. He loved the taste of her and the sound of his name on her lips until she soon stopped moving, breathing heavily as she gasped for air, a smile on her face. As she'd done before with him he went up to her and kissed her gently before he had her move so he could let her lay on him as they looked out the window. "Tired?" he asked.

"Hmm, we were a little busy last night," Beckett said with a satisfied smile on her face. "But I am," she confessed. "Though you know if it's like this tomorrow we might have some time."

"You're insatiable," Castle said teasingly, looking down at her.

"So are you," Beckett replied. She felt him stroke her hair before she said, "Any reason why you keep doing that?"

"Just because I can now," Castle told her. He pressed his lips to the top of her head before he told her, "Though I like the idea of spending more time with you I think we should hope it clears up."

"If it does you realize we still have the chance to spend the time together," Beckett pointed out to him. "We have no idea when Patrick will call."

"I'd thought of that," Castle replied with a nod. He then leaned down to kiss her as she was doing the same towards him, taking her tongue gently before they slowly parted. "Do you want to move to the bed?" he asked her when he realized that she was shaking slightly in his arms.

"Yeah," Beckett replied with a smile before she got off of him and then walked over to the bed. She waited for her husband to get onto it first before she followed him and waited for him to pull the covers over them both. Once he'd done that she smiled as she watched him make sure she was well covered and told him, "I'm warm now."

"Right," Castle said, settling down with her. He wrapped his arm around her to hold her to his side before he moved his hand to her arm, stroking it before he smiled.

"What?" Beckett asked, catching that smile.

"Just remembering that talk with Patrick," Castle replied. "And the way he was intent on making sure about me. If you'd had a brother that would have been the way he talked with me."

"Except for asking about our love lives," Beckett told him.

"That's true," Castle said. He then looked at his wife and said, "Are you going to talk with Trevor?"

"Do you think I should? I've seen them and I can tell that Patrick is very happy," Beckett replied. She smiled and said, "You want me to ask him about their love lives."

"Only if you want to," Castle said. He then said, "Kate, don't get mad at me but did you two ever go further than just being friends?"

"You mean did we ever get drunk and sleep together?" Beckett asked. Shaking her head she said, "We joked about that when we had drinks. How we needed to be very careful to not get drunk because of that. And we never did, trust me when I say Patrick never wanted to explore beyond his sexuality and he very much prefers men."

"I wouldn't have been jealous," Castle said. When his wife looked at him he said, "Okay, slightly jealous but you knew him long before we met."

"I did and remember I love you," Beckett said. She then stretched slightly while still in his embrace and said to him, "It was nice tonight."

"It was, I was so glad that we were able to have the chance to come back early enough," Castle said. "Speaking of a night out, what about the ball?"

"That's not until the twenty third," Beckett said. "But if you want to talk about it now, why?"

"Because I was thinking of your dress," Castle replied. "Are we going for a weekend for you to shop again?"

"No, I'm wearing my dress I wore to the Eiffel Tower," Beckett replied.

"Not the other dress?" Castle asked in surprise.

"It's a summer dress," Beckett replied. "So I'll be wearing it for our wedding."

"Nice," Castle said with a smile. "And so is the other dress, I just thought you'd prefer the light blue one." He squeezed her arm and brought her over to him for a kiss though she was already leaning over to do that. After they'd pulled apart he said, "It should be a nice night."

"With Brad and Lily joining the four of us?" Beckett asked. When her husband nodded she smiled and said, "I know, it should. But that's not for another couple weeks so I think we should get some sleep."

Leaning up Castle kissed her and when they'd parted to press their foreheads against each others he said, " _I love you_ Kate, _always_."

" _Always_ Rick, _I love you too_ ," Beckett replied with a smile. They kissed gently and then lay back down together so they were settled underneath the covers. She murmured a reply to his goodnight and then closed her eyes, letting herself begin to fall asleep as she let the pleasant fatigue overtake her.

Pressing his lips to her forehead Castle let himself nod off once Beckett had, rubbing her arm again as he joined her in sleep. The satiety and fatigue he'd felt was overwhelming and as he slept he was pleased to dream of her, knowing it was those two things that influenced what he saw as he took much needed rest with his wife while the snow continued to fall outside.


	17. But I Can't Turn Away

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: I was glad to get the feedback I did for the last chapter so want to get to my thank you for that right away! Guest (I was trying to show how close that Beckett and Darnley were and still are even after they haven't seen each other in so long. As well as the fact that Darnley was concerned about Becket's mother's case taking her over and her not letting herself have any real joy in her life. And with Castle talking to him I meant that to be a kind of proving himself to Beckett's brother figure and also Darnley being protective of her too. And I put a couple times that Beckett and Darnley were open about their lives with each other and I wanted to show that going to now since they're reunited), TORONTOSUN (Glad to see you can see what I'm doing with Julia and Eliza's relationship as sisters, I figure Julia would take charge and Eliza would defer to her since she's older. And of course I'm very happy to see that you like that! Great you enjoyed the second half of the chapter with just Castle and Beckett on their own, also with the love scene there, lol. And I'm also pleased to see you liked the two songs they danced to too!) and vetgirlmx (Happy to see you thought it was a very nice chapter! I thought you might like the bit I wrote about the girls, lol, so it was great to see that I was right about that! Also I wanted to show them even though they're not with Castle and Beckett, since I know readers do like reading about them too. So great you enjoyed the flashbacks, I was hoping you would and of course I used them to show better how close Beckett and Darnley were since I didn't really want to mention it until he was back in her life. And interesting you want Jim seeing Darnley again but you're right, everyone's changed and it would show that so I don't blame you for wanting to see that. And I guess I was putting something that was part of my friendship with my best friend, in the fact that we were open about sex, not detailed of course, but we'd openly talk about different things pertaining to it and joke about it and whatnot. So I figured I'd write Beckett and Darnley having done that since it kind of was like what I did, didn't realize it would be creepy, sorry. But glad to see despite that you thought it was a fun chapter in the end! So great you can't wait to see what happens next and now you don't need to wait for that! Oh and interesting to see you want them to be done with the case, have to see how that goes now!). Thanks so much for the reviews, greatly appreciate the time taken to write them out and send them to me!

A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _You Won't See Me_ by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, from The Beatles' album _Rubber Soul_.

But I Can't Turn Away

"So it looks like the city is awake," Beckett said, turning to look at her husband as he came into the bedroom.

"People are down at the marina?" Castle asked in surprise as he went over to look out with her.

"Yeah, I think to check on their boats," Beckett said. She smiled then when her husband leaned over and started to kiss at her shoulder through her robe and also her pajama shirt she was wearing underneath before she said, "Breakfast?"

"Oh… if we must," Castle said with a suffering sigh.

"Hold on," Beckett said, making him turn to her before she cupped his face in her hands and kissed him. She wasn't taken aback at the speed of his responding to her, more pleased than anything else as she then wrapped her arms around him tightly. They kissed passionately and for a long time until they were parting with a hard gasp. She smiled and then murmured, "Good morning."

"Morning love," Castle breathed. He pressed his forehead to hers and murmured to her, "I may regret agreeing to tonight."

"You won't," Beckett said firmly as she'd asked him if they could get some much needed rest that night in the hopes they'd be able to be tourists after that day. "It'll be worth it." She smiled when she pulled back to look at him, seeing the doubtful expression on his face. "It will, we should eat," she told him, letting him go to go over to the bed.

Going back out into the living room Castle brought the tray their food had been brought on over to Beckett's nightstand where he gave her her plate and then took his own with his mug around the bed to sit on his side. Sitting next to her as they leaned against the headboard they began to eat in silence while she looked at the newspaper that had been outside their room.

"In case you're wondering," Beckett told her husband after a while. "There's nothing about the case. At least not that I've seen so far."

"Anything about Congress?" Castle asked. "That would pertain to our case of course."

"I… yes," Beckett said in surprise. When her husband looked at her questioningly she handed the page over to him, watching him read the article.

"This must have been kept silent," Castle mused as the article detailed the committee that Senator Sumner had been on before was being investigated for embezzlement.

"I hope-" Beckett started to say before her phone then rang. "Patrick," she said as soon as she'd answered it. "Did you see the article?" she asked him.

"I did," Darnley reassured her. "Is Castle there?"

"Yeah, I can hear you," he replied. "This is a lead right?"

"It is and I've called Jodie," Darnley said. "She was out the door to head into work but her streets haven't been plowed yet either."

"So we're stuck?" Castle asked.

"For the time being but I'm going to go into my office as soon as I finish breakfast with Trev and Maddy to see what I can find," Darnley replied. "As soon as I can leave my house for the station I'll call you, see if you can join me."

"Is there any risk?" Beckett asked her friend.

"No if we keep this quiet then we'll be alright," Darnley told her.

"But what about Sumner?" Beckett said.

"I didn't tell her what I'd found," Darnley replied. "Only that we maybe had something and we'd have to wait until we got to the station."

"Does she read the papers?" Castle asked.

"No, online news and she's having trouble connecting to it because of the mini storm last night," Darnley told them. "I asked her to make sure she wouldn't go straight to her father or whoever might be in on this."

"Will she be mad at you for that?" Castle said.

"After I explain why I did that I hope not," Darnley replied. "I'm looking at what I can of the case, you two just… I guess relax."

"Call us the second you can go," Beckett told her friend.

"Sure, enjoy your time off," Darnley said. "And keep warm."

"We will," Castle said before he said goodbye to the man with his wife. After she'd hung up he said, "Hopefully he gets his internet back."

"I think he was thinking that himself," Beckett said with a slight smile. "But we'll see." She watched him look at his phone before she said, "No?"

"No," Castle said, shaking his head. He sighed and said, "Should we go back to breakfast?"

"I guess," Beckett replied before she set aside the newspaper.

Watching her take a sip from her mug of coffee Castle told her, "I'm sorry about the lack of artwork these past couple of days."

"Don't worry," Beckett told him reassuringly. "You can't first off and second you don't need to do it every day."

"I'm aware but I think the girls would be livid if they knew," Castle said.

"Have they ever told you why they want you to do this for me so often?" Beckett asked him. When he didn't answer she studied his face and saw the hesitation on there before she said warningly, "Rick."

"Okay, we discussed this after Christmas," Castle said, not surprised that had been all it took to make him break completely. "When I was unable to make any coffee art since I was tired, remember?"

"Of course, they nearly had a fit," Beckett said, having been as surprised as the rest of their family at the reactions of the girls. "And what did you tell them?"

"I told them that it was something I did for you but sometimes I couldn't do it every day," Castle replied.

"Tell me the entirety of the conversation because I know you remember that too," Beckett said firmly. When her husband looked at her in surprise she merely explained, "I can tell from the look on your face."

With a sigh Castle then began to explain what he'd said to the girls and what they'd said in response while recalling it as Beckett had been right; it'd stuck with him considering what they'd said to each other about the simple act.

* * *

 _"So you understand right girls?" Castle was saying to his two youngest daughters. "I can't do it every day and it might get a little boring for your mom if I did do that."_

 _"But Daddy," Julia said. "It's something you do to show Mommy that you love her."_

 _"I know," Castle replied with a slight sigh. "But you do know I have other ways to show her."_

 _"Like what?" Eliza asked interestedly._

 _Castle coughed for a moment; hoping the two would take it as his needing to clear his throat instead of him trying not to think of the more physical way he showed his love to Beckett; and then said, "I get her flowers-"_

 _"Those you don't get lots either Daddy," Eliza said, interrupting him before he could say that._

 _"Do you tell Mommy you love her at least once a day?" Julia then asked, not surprised when her sister nodded in agreement with her._

 _Trying not to laugh at how serious the two were Castle said, "We say it to each other, yes. But I kiss her good morning and goodnight and I didn't always do that to women before I met your mom."_

 _Eliza looked at her sister; Julia having told her about their father having looked for the right woman before meeting their mother; and then said quickly, "So you know you have to show Mommy."_

 _"It's not that I need to prove it," Castle said, not wanting them to think that as he knew Beckett didn't like the idea of him thinking it. "I just want to show my love hasn't diminished… grown smaller I guess is the best way to explain it."_

 _"So you can't always do the coffee art," Julia said with a sigh._

 _"No but your mom is aware I wish I could do it," Castle said. "I just need to take breaks sometimes." He was amused then to see Eliza whisper into her sister's ear and then watched Julia turn to him with another serious expression on her face._

 _"We thought about it Daddy and we think that you should give Mommy a kiss every day," Julia said firmly, basically sternly._

 _"Really?" Castle asked, trying to keep the amusement out of his voice._

 _"You can do that Daddy, you do that already," Eliza said stubbornly._

 _"Okay," Castle said._

 _"Maybe one is too little," Julia said to her sister._

 _Eliza thought about that and then said, "But how does he count?"_

 _"Maybe you can kiss her five times a day?" Julia asked. "He can count that," she told her little sister._

 _"Five you said?" Castle asked._

 _"Yeah," the girls said at the same time._

 _Pretending to think that over Castle said, "Alright I think I'll agree to that. But you know your mom does the same thing too."_

 _"We know," Julia said. "It's the way she smiles at you isn't it?"_

 _"And kisses me too, don't forget," Castle reminded them. "So you understand right?"_

 _"We do," Julia said, glancing at her sister. "But still, you should try to do that art when you can."_

 _"Okay," Castle said with a laugh. "I'll do my best. Now come on, who wants to run around in the back and make a couple snowmen?" He wasn't surprised when they both cheered and followed him to get their mother so they could put on their things and head out._

* * *

"Five kisses?" Beckett said, amused but touched at what their daughters had said to him.

"Yeah and I've tried to stick to that ever since we had that discussion though of course they were alright with me having to hold off on it once I left," Castle replied.

"And since I got here?" Beckett asked.

"I think I've been able to keep up with that," Castle said. He smiled as he watched her laugh and then told her, "I wonder sometimes what it was that made Julia so determined to make sure we stay together."

"She didn't overhear your mom and Alexis worrying about us two years ago did she?" Beckett asked.

"I've never asked," Castle replied. "But I did talk with Mother about that and she said they were careful about what they said concerning us at that time."

"I think we need to chalk it up to her seeing other classmates' homes being broken up by divorce," Beckett told him with a slight shrug.

"We'll just have to make sure she's aware we're still in love," Castle said.

Beckett couldn't help smiling and she told him, "We don't really need to make sure, don't we just kiss whenever the urge to takes us?"

"I can't argue that," Castle said, pretending to look thoughtful as he nodded. He smiled when she rolled her eyes and then leaned over to kiss her deeply before they slowly parted.

"Three?" Beckett asked him with a smirk.

"I should tell you the truth," Castle said. "I don't keep track."

"I didn't think you did," Beckett replied. "Do they ask you if you do?"

"I just assure them that I do get to five," Castle replied. "Luckily they believe me."

"Luckily you're not lying to them," Beckett said as she turned to set her empty plate on the nightstand. She finished off her coffee and turning to look at her husband she saw that he was empty handed as well. "So," she began when he was turning his head to her. "What should we do?"

"I think it would be prudent to get dressed," Castle said. "And wait until he calls."

"You don't sound too enthusiastic about that idea," Beckett said, unable to help smiling.  
"No because I don't want to get up yet," Castle explained though he knew she had to realize that. "You?"

"Neither do I," Beckett said, inclining her head slightly. "But we should be ready to go the second he gets in touch with us." She then said, "We can dress together."

"Sure," Castle said enthusiastically. "But first…"

There was no surprise for Beckett when her husband leaned over to her and then kissed her. She was there to meet him and to wrap her arms tightly around his neck before they were rolling their tongues carefully around each other. She was proud of him for not giving into temptation and letting that kiss go on far longer and be much more frantic than it could have been. So to show that she was she gave him a quick peck on the lips a few times before they finally parted. "I think we've reached five?" she told him teasingly.

"No, four because I didn't kiss you those last… three times," Castle said. He laughed briefly when his wife rolled her eyes and he then got off the bed to follow her into the closet so they could pick their clothes. "What did the newspaper say about the temperature?" he asked her as he looked at his shirts.

"Thirty-three so there might be some snow," Beckett said. "But I think it's colder."

"The people down on the marina?" Castle asked. When his wife nodded he made a slight sound in the back of his throat and got what he wanted to wear before they went to change at the bed. "I've been looking at the weather constantly since I got here," he told her as they changed. "And it's not supposed to be too bad once we get to Thursday, cold but no snow until the night we get home."

"Great, I can't imagine what we'd do with the girls if we were forced inside," Beckett said.  
"There's always the pool," Castle said.

"There is, but that only goes so far," Beckett replied with a smile as she finished buttoning her dark blue blouse. She sat with Castle on the chez to put on her boots and said, "I'm wondering about tomorrow night."

"Dinner?" Castle asked. When she nodded he said musingly, "You wanted to do something with Patrick?"

"I did, so that means we'll be eating at the party?" Beckett asked.

"You could have lunch with him," Castle suggested.

"He might be busy; or we might be," Beckett said thoughtfully. Shaking her head she said, "We'll invite them up to the house and we'll have lunch back in the Hamptons."

"Great, I'm all for that," Castle replied, finishing tying his shoe. Following her into the living room after they had their jackets to wear under their coats he said, "We're going through the case."

"We don't have to," Beckett said. She smiled briefly when her husband looked surprised and then told him, "I'm not sure we'd be that successful with the little information we have here."

Looking at the table Castle said, "Good point, let me take care of this for you."

Watching him grab her dress from the night before Beckett walked after him and told him, "I almost didn't bring that."

"No," Castle said before he remembered that she'd told him about how Julia had talked with her about her choice of dress.

"No I remembered it and packed it once the girls were asleep," Beckett said. "I'll show it to them both when they get here."

"Julia will like it," Castle said firmly after the dress was hung up behind the other dress she had in its garment bag. He tried not to think of how she'd been wearing that dress as they'd been arousing one another and turned to her. "What?" he asked as she had her arms crossed over her chest and one eyebrow raised.

"Pervert," Beckett said. "But I think they'll both like it. Come on," she said, reaching out to take his hand. She went back to the couch where they sat and she said, "Any luck?" as he'd taken his phone out of his pocket.

"Still no but I didn't check because this is going to be boring," Castle said. "I wanted an idea of if I had time for this." Before she could say anything he was grabbing for her and kissed her hard on the lips, feeling her surprise when she grabbed at him tightly. Luckily he felt her responding so he kept that up for as long as he could, going into multiple kisses though they lasted for less time than the first one until they were panting and pressing their foreheads against each other as their panting breaths hit each other's lips.

"You're not really counting are you?" Beckett asked after she'd caught her breath.

"No I recall it every once in a while but I don't keep track of how many times we do that," Castle said. He then pulled back slightly and said, "You know what I just thought?"

"What," Beckett said, wondering what had just crossed his mind as she studied him.

"You ever get the urge to spend a day… likely our anniversary or while we're on our second honeymoon, counting-" Castle started to say.

"Rick," Beckett said sternly.

"Come on, you never thought of that?" Castle asked jokingly. When she shook her head and rolled her eyes slightly he brought her hand up to his lips where he kissed the back of it before he told her, "I think we'd lose count."

"You'd make sure we did," Beckett said, smiling that time. She leaned over a little before they kissed gently and she jumped as they parted since her phone was ringing. "Patrick," she told her husband. She then saw an icon at the top of the screen and said swiftly, "The internet's back. Patrick?"

"We're ready to go," Darnley told her. "I'm leaving this second and I'll see you at the station."

"We're going too," Beckett assured him before she hung up her phone and stood up with her husband so they could get all their outer layers on.

"I wonder how long he's going to be able to keep things from Sumner," Castle said as he made sure he had the room key as they went over to the door once they were ready.

"I have no clue," Beckett said absently as she stepped into the hall first. "Not that long." They went down to the lobby where luckily her husband's quickly placed phone call got them a cab once they went out to the curb. Giving the address to the driver once they were in the back she said to her husband, " _We might have to talk to my friend again_."

Nodding Castle said, " _Probably since it's involving the hill. But I wonder if they'll give that much information to him_."

"There's only one way to know," Beckett said, looking at the Mall that they were passing. She frowned when the sound of her text alert suddenly played and she quickly got her phone out of her pocket. "Look," she said, showing him the message.

" _Found a building where the killer's been making his things; patrol noticed front door wide open and went in_ ," Castle read in as low a tone as he could. " _Come now I'm heading there first_. Driver," he said before calling out to the man in front of them.

It took little effort for the cab driver to get them set in the direction of the building before they came to it, seeing that there was a small house where a few police were around the front door. Sharing a look Castle and Beckett left the cab once they'd paid the man and then hurried to the yellow tape as Darnley walked out.

"Great," the detective said seeing the two. "Come on inside you're definitely going to want to see this."

When they'd made it to the house up the long walk way Castle and Beckett found that the living room off the tiny entry was completely darkened except for some bright lights that wouldn't have looked out of place at a photo shoot. It lit a table and work table that were all covered with different items.

"He was meticulous," Darnley told the two as he nodded to the wall above the work table.

"Us," Beckett said when she saw the pictures of the three of them. She then frowned and said, "There's none of Sumner."

"I noticed," Darnley said, sounding irritated. "Which likely means she's been the target."

"But what about the fact that she's been accounted for?" Castle asked.

"Wait," Beckett said before her friend could answer that. "Have you looked at the box here?"

Not yet," Darnley said as he looked at the CSU workers who all shook their heads to that. "I told them to look at the material to find out what we can from that." He grabbed the one that Beckett had seen, cutting it open as it was taped closed. "So it's not quite a framing of Jodie," he said as there were pictures of his partner in there.

"No it was," Castle said, looking at his wife.

Studying the photos that Darnley spread out Beckett said, "He's right, there are only recent pictures here…" She turned and then went to the materials and then looked at the pictures of herself. "He made us," she said.

"What?" Darnley asked.

"He made us," Beckett said, pointing to herself in the picture from the day she'd arrived when they'd been walking up to the first vic's house.

Looking down at the red fabric that had been cut; a near perfect match to the coat that his friend was wearing at that moment; Darnley said, "So the three are… us?"

"I don't know," Castle said. "Sumner doesn't fit if that's the case. Have you gotten anything threatening from the killer?"

"Not today," Darnley said, looking a little irritated. "But I think we might have a possible break. I sent the landlord to the station; he's seen Dominic Cabrillo." When Castle and Beckett looked at him in confusion he told them simply, "The man who's renting this house."

* * *

"Nothing on Dominic Cabrillo," Sumner was saying as she walked over to Darnley's desk, handing him a sheet of paper. "Of course, are you sure Mr. Andersen will be able to recall what he looked like?"

"He will," Darnley assured her. "What about CSU?"

"A handwritten list of what they assume the scraps of everything were," Sumner replied, handing a second sheet to him. "The one that stands out most to me is-"

"The wrapping for a model plane?" Darnley asked. When his partner nodded he said, "Wow, so now we know this has to do with your father… somehow." He then looked up at his partner; seeing Castle and Beckett turning to him with surprised expressions; and said, "Uh… I think we need to talk Jodie."

"Why?" Sumner said, startled at the look on his face.

Beckett reached out and took her husband's arm before he could follow the two and said, "If he doesn't close the door you'll be able to hear enough."

Castle looked over at her but had to agree with what she'd said so he watched the two detectives talking in the doorway. He was surprised when neither seemed to become that angry and they were soon walking back to them. "You told her?" he couldn't help asking.

"It's not my father," Sumner said, looking determined. "But someone connected to that committee was definitely stealing the money."

"Do you think it was a senator?" Beckett asked as Darnley was on the phone at that moment.

"It might, there are a couple that aren't fans of my dad," Sumner said thoughtfully. "But it would be harder to find them."

"That's the problem," Darnley said, hanging up the phone. "Since the FBI is not sharing."

"Then I can ask my dad," Sumner said.

"Wait, it looks like we've got the sketch," Castle said, noticing the sketch artist and landlord coming out of the room.

"It's Mott," the four said in surprise.

"Who?" the landlord asked.

"Mr. Cabrillo," Darnley said when he could shake off his surprise. "He was using an assumed name. Was today the first time you were inside the house?"

"Once he took over," Andersen replied. "I was there to go in 'cause there was a frozen pipe in the building, needed to check the house too but your officer was there first."

"Good thing he left the door open," Castle mumbled under his breath.

"So you never talked to him?" Beckett asked.

"No ma'am just picked up rent and left; paid in cash," Andersen replied.

"Thank you so much for your help," Darnley said before he had an officer escort the man to the elevator. "Now you do need to call your father."

"And Mott?" Sumner asked.

"I'll take care of it," Darnley replied with a nod. "Be ready to go," he then directed to Castle and Beckett as he sat back at his desk. "Where I have no idea yet but we'll be going."

With a nod to him; though the detective was already on the phone and couldn't see it; Castle and Beckett went over to Sumner's desk after she told them to use it to look into Mott and they sat down at it. Beckett took the lead on that, starting to search the man before the information came up on the screen and they began to read over it as rapidly as they could before Darnley finished with his phone call.

"What?" the detective asked in slight surprise when he saw the two were looking at him. Standing up he said, "I put out an APB in case Hotchkiss and Asfar don't find him at his place. What about you?"

"Can we see the notes and any handwriting from Mott?" Beckett asked. She wasn't surprised when her partner nodded and then got up to grab those items without asking, saying to him, "We'll explain." Turning to her husband she was surprised when his phone rang and she said, "McCann?"

"Luckily no, hold on," Castle replied, stepping away from the desk to take the call.

Standing up herself Beckett went over to the murder board, looking over everything they had before Castle came back to her first. "We're going to need to explain this," she told him.

"Which you can do right now," Darnley told them as he reached them. "To your left Mott's handwriting for his resume and to the right the note."

"Finding Mott seems like it was way too easy," Castle said first when his wife sat down at the detective's desk to start looking at the writing closer.

"It was, it looks like his but there are stress marks on the e's and i's that don't match his resume," Beckett said then.

"So you're saying it's not Mott," Darnley said in surprise.

"What?" Sumner asked, coming back over to them then. When she saw that everyone was looking at her she hurriedly told them, "I can't get in touch with him; I don't think he needs to go in to the Capitol today so he might be sleeping in with the ringer off."

"No house phone?" Castle asked. He wasn't surprised when the woman shook her head no and he then said, "Were there any aides of your father's that he's fired in the past?"

"I… Smitten," Sumner started to say before she paused. "You saw him."

"I did," Darnley said thoughtfully as his partner had been talking to him. "And he was doing the same thing that the committee's being investigated for; embezzling."

"It was never proven though," Sumner said hurriedly. She saw her partner looking at her and she said firmly, "No, I never got over him. You know Dad liked him, it was just he had no choice in firing him."

Sharing a look with her husband Beckett asked; guessing the man was a former aide, "Was Smitten aware of your feelings for him?"

"He disappeared after he was fired and I haven't heard from him in a year," Sumner replied. She saw the surprised looks on Castle and Beckett's faces and said, "It's not him… it can't be."

"Do you have any samples of his handwriting we could look at?" Beckett asked carefully, keeping her eyes on Sumner though she was speaking to Darnley.

"Here," the latter detective replied as he sat reached around her to go onto his computer.

"Look, the e's," Castle said, pointing to the resume that Smitten had placed at the Capitol.

"Alright," Darnley said. "We better check on him. Jodie," he said when his partner started to open her mouth. "I can't let you come."

"I know just… don't hurt him," Sumner said. She frowned and then said, "If he is the killer we're going to want him alive."

"Come on," Darnley told Castle and Beckett before they went to the elevator after he called a few officers to follow him.

Once they were in her friend's squad car Beckett asked him, "She's fighting it?"

"She is, mainly because she's not sure if the guy was ripping off her father or not," Darnley answered. "They suspected Senator Sumner at first," he then explained. "But then moved on to him when they noticed an IP coming from his computer."

"That easily?" Castle asked.

"He did try to cover his tracks as is my understanding," Darnley said. "I thought the same though and they nearly had him until they discovered that someone piggybacked onto it. So that's why they couldn't prove it was him or someone framing him."

"Revenge," Castle and Beckett said at the same time as they shared a look.

"It could be," Darnley said. They were all silent for a moment and then said, "Have you ever eased up on doing that?"

"No," Beckett said firmly. "And our girls do the same."

Laughing slightly Darnley said, "I'm eager to meet them."

"You will," Beckett assured him. "We want them to meet Maddy."

"And I'm sure they're eager to do that too," Castle said. "Just in case you thought we were forcing them to."

"Glad to hear," Darnley replied. He pulled up in front of an apartment building then and said, "You guys stay, when it's clear I'll call you up."

Standing on the sidewalk at the end of the walkway to the building with an officer near them Castle said to his wife, "I thought you would have protested not being allowed to go. You know a nice little jaunt between friends."

Looking at her husband Beckett said, " _Did you put something in your coffee this morning_?"

"No," Castle said firmly. "But… Detective?" he said when he then saw Sumner stepping out of the car she'd parked against the curb.

"Sumner, Darnley was specific about not letting you in," the officer said once she'd reached them, holding out her hand.

"But…" the woman started to say before she trailed off. "Fine," she said before walking away from them down the sidewalk a little.

Holding up her hand slightly to her husband Beckett walked over to the woman and said, "Can I ask you something?"

"As a detective or as a woman?" Sumner replied, turning to face her.

"Did your father not approve of Smitten?" Beckett asked.

"You mean to date me?" Sumner asked instead of replying. At Beckett's nod she then said, "I never told him how I felt about him; no one knows except for Patrick. He guessed."

"Castle, Beckett," the officer said called. "Darnley's calling you up."

"What about me?" Sumner asked, walking swiftly over to him with Beckett following her.

After speaking on his walkie-talkie the officer said, "You too."

Following the detective Castle grabbed Beckett's hand as they went through the lobby to the elevators. There was one there being held by another officer and he couldn't help asking her, "Was Smitten there?"

"I don't think she's going to talk about that out here in the lobby," Beckett said as they started to go up.

"Still I had to try," Castle replied with a shrug before he followed her gaze over to the detective with them who was watching the numbers ascend on the panel. As soon as they stopped on the ninth floor he wasn't surprised when Sumner walked out ahead of them, nearly running.

"Nice of you to listen," Darnley said when he saw his partner first while he was in the doorway of their suspect's apartment.

"You know I had to come," Sumner replied firmly.

"Is he here?" Beckett asked when they were close.

"See for yourself," Darnley said, stepping aside for his partner.

"Nick!" Sumner said, seeing the man inside sitting on the couch.

"He's not handcuffed," Castle said in surprise.

"No, because he was tied up in the bathroom when we came in," Darnley replied, watching as his partner began to talk to Smitten.

"Tied up and beaten up," Beckett said, having easily spotted the bruises on the man's face.

"So the two may be working together," Darnley said.

"No," Castle said. He then took the file with the handwriting samples out from under his arm and opened it, setting the two side by side. "This resume is from about ten months ago."

"And?" Darnley asked as he saw that he was looking at the one that Mott had submitted.

"Did you talk to him yet?" Beckett asked, nodding inside to Smitten.

"No I was waiting for you," Darnley replied. "Now's a good enough time." He led them into the room and said, "Jodie," as calmly as he could. "Can we speak to him?"

"Yeah," Sumner said, looking embarrassed. She stood up and then went over to the bathroom, knowing her partner wouldn't want her to stay.

"Look, I don't know what's going on here," Smitten said, looking at the three. "I was… I've been here for… what's today?"

"The twelfth," Castle answered.

"Since the ninth," Smitten answered. "I was making coffee when there was a knock on the door and I opened it 'cause I thought it was my friend Trainor, he and I work together now at a bookstore near the Mall. But the guy was in a ski mask and… he just pummeled me. All I remember after that is being in the bathroom and being given water."

"Were you kept unconcious?" Beckett asked.

"No but I tried to get out," Smitten told them. "I yelled but these walls are thick so no luck there." He coughed then and took a sip of water, nearly dropping his glass, as his hands were shaking roughly, if Beckett hadn't reached out to hold it for him. "Thanks," he said gratefully to her with a nod. "Are you Jodie's friend?"

"No but she's been concerned about you," Beckett said, glancing at Darnley who didn't reply to that. "Please continue though."

"I was tied really tightly," Smitten said. "So I couldn't fall and my legs were tied too. You don't know how happy I was to see you Detective."

"Did this man in the ski mask talk to you at all?" Darnley then asked.

Shaking his head Smitten looked over at the door as paramedics came inside and told them earnestly, "He never spoke, never took off the mask so I had no idea what he looked like. Just his eyes, they were the same color as mine. Oh and he was the same height as me too."

"Alright, we'll let you go," Darnley said. "You're not in trouble but we may need to ask more questions in the future."

"I don't mind," Smitten said as the first paramedic began to pinch the skin on the back of his hand.

"Dehydration," the man said. "We'll be taking him to Potomac General," he told Darnley, glancing behind the couch.

"Jodie," Darnley said to his partner. When she tore her gaze from Smitten to him he said, "You can see him later."

"That'd be nice," Smitten said, smiling slightly at her as he was helped up onto the stretcher.

"We need to focus on Mott now," Darnley told her firmly.

"Right," Sumner said, seeming to shake herself.

"You might want to try your dad again," Castle suggested. "And another question before you do that."

"Do you know who Mott was with in Congress before he went to your dad's office?" Beckett asked since she'd thought the same as her husband.

"Senator… Gulland," Sumner said. "He was on that committee too but he left a year ago before my dad did."

"So the chance to get money was gone," Darnley stated. "But why stay with your father?"

"Someone trying to bring him down paying Mott?" Castle suggested.

"It's too sloppily done," Sumner protested. "If they were aiming to bring him down they would have tried… a prostitute or something like that. Drugs even. But murder? No."

"Was your dad going to fire him?" Castle and Beckett suddenly said at the same time.

Looking back and forth between the two; startled; Sumner shook her head before she groaned and said, "Oh god, I can't believe I forgot; six months ago I went to Dad and he was talking about rehiring Smitten. He was going to petition for it since he was never charged but it would take time… around six months."

"So obviously Mott heard about that," Beckett said. "But how do the dioramas come into play here?"

"His name wasn't on the book list," Darnley said. He then thought for a moment and said, "What if he got that book via a garage sale."

"He could have stolen it too," Castle pointed out.

"What is it?" Beckett asked Sumner who was looking at them in slight concern.

"He was reading a book about the dioramas the first time I saw him at his desk in my father's office," the woman said, sounding pained. "If only I'd remembered…"

"It's alright Jodie, that was how long ago?" Darnley said reassuringly.

"The title was… _Studies in Miniature during the Twentieth Century_ ," Sumner then said, trying to recall.

"I don't remember that one," Castle said, going onto his phone. "Good thing the internet came back."

"Let's head out," Darnley said as he saw CSU had arrived. "Kate, lead him out and we'll follow."  
Taking her husband by the arm to take him to the elevators where they waited for the two Beckett asked, "Any luck."

"Let me try… In the Twentieth Century," Castle said as his search came up blank.

"So we- what?" Darnley began to say as he and Sumner walked up to the couple before cutting himself off.

"Look," Castle said, showing them the screen of his phone.

"Sanford Mott?" Sumner said. When her partner looked at her she shook her head and said, "I've never heard of him but I would guess he's Mott's father."

"He is," Darnley said, looking at his phone. "Let's go," he said before pressing the button for the elevator.

* * *

"I talked to someone who worked for the publishing company," Castle said as he walked over to Darnley and Sumner's desks from where he'd been on the phone in the break room. "And they said that only sold about ten copies when it was published around thirty years ago before their company went bankrupt and they shut down."

"Detective?" an aide said, coming over to them. "This just got faxed to you."

Taking the paper she held Darnley nodded his thanks to her before he looked at the names. Knowing the others were looking at him he shook his head and said, "None of the vics' last names are here or anyone else we've come across in this case."

"So since the senior Mott became destitute after that book was published I'm going to guess he had to pay some money for it to be published, Mott decided to use the dioramas as his MO," Castle said thoughtfully. "That's all the dioramas have to do with it; just a coincidence that you two know about it."

"As I said before, Mott and I had barely met yesterday," Darnley said, not surprised when his friend and Castle looked over to him. "So he's not at home and we haven't found him…"

"He'll still be in the city, with the snow yesterday it likely slowed him down," Sumner told him.

"We can only hope," Darnley said. He sighed and said, "Alright, I have to call Jacobs; I nearly forgot."

"Will the FBI help look for Mott?" Castle asked his wife as they went to the murder board then.

"I-" Beckett began to say before she heard Darnley suddenly speak.

"What? He's… but-" the detective started to say.

"Dad!" Sumner exclaimed.

"Where are they?" Castle asked as he and Beckett looked at the TV that was against the wall near them and could see the detective's father with Mott behind him.

"The 14th street bridge," Darnley said before he got a text on his phone. "Oh god, Trevor's there with Skye; they went to walk on it and discovered them there. Let's go."

Beckett was confused as to why the two NTSB investigators were on that bridge but she had a feeling they were recalling the discussion they'd had about the Air Florida flight. "She must have known someone on the flight," she told her husband as they were in the elevator going down.

"So does Trev," Darnley said grimly. "A flight attendant who was a neighbor of his and she knew the same woman from her flights back and forth with her father. The woman was married to the man who inspired Trev to join the NTSB."

"They have to be okay," Castle said quickly as they reached the parking and were soon striding over to the man's squad car.

"He's right," Beckett said. "They weren't in the picture near Mott and Senator Sumner."

"I get the feeling he might try to be negotiating with our killer," Darnley said. "And he has no clue how to do that…"

Beckett reached over and squeezed his arm as he was pealing out of the parking garage telling him, "It may be more Skye doing that."

"She's right but either way we need to hurry," Castle said before they were on the street and Darnley hit his sirens. The drive luckily didn't take too long; making him guess the snow might have helped them there; and they were pulling up to the cars that had been stopped at the entrance to the bridge. From there he ran after his wife and her friend to the yellow tape.

"Sergeant," Darnley called out to one of the SWAT team members that were there. Showing his badge he then explained who he was before he nodded to Sumner who'd come with them and said, "That's her father."

"Dad," Sumner called to him. "Dad are you okay?"

"Fine… fine sweetheart, stay there," Senator Sumner said, holding his hand out towards her.

"Mott," Darnley said. "Mind if we talk?"

Looking over at them the man said, "Fine."

"Wait, Patrick," Nkosi said, suddenly appearing with Skye but not before his husband had ducked underneath the tape.

"He knows what he's doing," Beckett said, stopping the man from continuing any further after him. "We took classes for it."

Nkosi looked at her but then nodded once before he explained, "He did not want to be fired from his job, so he was going to frame you Jodie, and a man named Smitten."

"He thought he could 'help' you enough that your father would be grateful and keep him on," Skye continued. "But I get the feeling that's not all that's going on," she added as they watched Darnley stop in front of the two.

"Is this enough?" the detective asked the man who he could see was holding a gun to Senator Sumner's back at that moment.

"Far enough Detective. What made you realize it was me?" Mott asked.

Hearing that Beckett was a little surprised at the man's nonchalance but she looked at her husband, seeing that he was frowning and knowing she wasn't alone noticing that. "Easy," she then said gently to Nkosi who shifted next to her.

"You did a nice job with Smitten's handwriting," Darnley replied. "But not good enough, your e's on your notes missed what made them particular to Smitten in the first place. Why kill all these women?"

"Two birds with one stone," Mott said with a sigh. "The senator here was going to fire me and they all turned me down, repeatedly."

"Why?" Darnley asked before he heard a whistle behind him in response to that question.

Watching her friend shake his hand at her Beckett frowned at the question but didn't say anything as she knew Nkosi was watching her. She wanted to tell Darnley to be careful but knew he was already aware of his husband thinking that.

"They just didn't want me, they said I was too pushy," Mott replied. "Whatever, they were helpful in the end though."

"It does sound like it," Darnley replied. "How about you let Senator Sumner go though, he's not really going to help you."

Mott looked at the man in front of him, who was looking over his shoulder back at him, and he then shoved him into Darnley. "Oh no," he said quickly as the detective started to leave with the senator. "You're staying, put down your gun and come here."

"Patrick!" Nkosi called to him before Beckett and Skye both held onto him to stop him from moving as Mott's gun was aimed at his head.

"It'll be alright," Darnley told them. He set down his gun, motioning to the leader of the SWAT team who nodded to him in return. Knowing there was someone who had a gun on Mott he walked over to the man who led him by his weapon to the railing of the bridge.

"I met your husband," the man told him. "And his friend, if they hadn't gotten here your partner would have been a suspect in her father's murder."

Castle glanced at Sumner on the other side of him, not surprised when she made a slight noise of distress at that, and he said to Nkosi and Skye, "Good thing you were here."

"We threw some flowers down there together," Skye said as Nkosi was staring at his husband. "For our friend."

"Good thing," Castle repeated.

"So what are you going to do now?" Darnley was saying to Mott. "Wait, what are you-" he said then as the man pushed himself up on the railing.

"I'm just thinking," Mott replied. "You have enough on me don't you?"

"We do," Darnley said.

"Like what?" Mott asked with a smile.

"You left your fingerprints at Smitten's place," Darnley said easily.

"I…" Mott began before he frowned. He looked back to the police that were watching them and he nodded saying, "But that's just kidnapping."

"Your DNA was found on the vic that you raped," Darnley added. "And we have a few other prints that will likely match your own."

Mott grew serious then and said, "Really."

"Yes, so come on," Darnley said, holding his hand out to the man. "It's better for you-" Before he could continue Mott held his gun up to him and he froze, holding his hands up before the man was grasping onto his coat collar.

"Patrick!" Nkosi and Beckett yelled at the same time as Mott was somehow able to haul Darnley over the rail and out of sight. They ran together before anyone could say anything and looked over the rail to the water below them.

"He's drowning!" Nkosi said in complete fear as they couldn't see anything.

"Wait, there he is," Castle said as he and Skye had joined the two along with the police, Darnley breaking the water. He held his wife back as he'd been able to see Nkosi about to jump over the railing if she and Skye hadn't held him back.

Beckett let go of her friend's husband as he relaxed and they watched Darnley below them swimming towards the shore with one hand as the other had a hold of Mott who was trying to fight against him. "We better go help him," she told the others. "Someone grab blankets and call the paramedics!"

Running together down the bridge by the time the group made it to the side of the river Darnley was out and holding onto Mott. Once officers from the SWAT team had the killer in handcuffs the detective stood and was suddenly wrapped in a blanket before his husband was hugging him tightly. "I'm alright," he said reassuringly.

"No you're not," Nkosi said, taking him over to the ambulance that was pulling up. "You're going to freeze to death."

Though she wanted to follow them Beckett allowed the men to go on their own before she then turned to Mott. "His weapon?" she asked the SWAT team leader.

"Likely in the river," the man said with a nod. "So we're set here, we'll get traffic up there moving."

"Kate," Castle called to her. "They're taking him to the same hospital Smitten is at."

"Great, let's see if we can't take his car and go," Beckett said before they headed over to where Sumner was talking with Nkosi outside the first ambulance.

* * *

"Here he comes," Skye said to Beckett as her friend was pacing back and forth.

"Well?" she asked Nkosi as he walked over to them.

"He's alright, they're finding him some clothes now and after he will be able to leave," the man replied. He was surprised at Beckett's sudden sigh of relief at that and said, "You were worried."

"It's because this happened to me back in December," Castle said, coming up to his wife and putting his arm around her carefully. When she didn't try to push him away he said, "Are you taking him home?"

"He can go," Sumner said when Nkosi looked to her. "I have the paperwork he needs to sign here."

"So the case is wrapped up?" Castle asked as the detective; who'd only just arrived; motioned him and his wife over to her.

"A few last minute things but it's alright," Sumner said.

"How's your father?" Beckett asked after she and Castle had signed the papers they needed to.

"Jodie," a voice said then, making the others look back at him.

"Senator," Nkosi said, walking over to him. "I'm relieved to see you're alright."

"And that you two are," Senator Sumner said as he touched his daughter's shoulder. "I came to see if your husband was as well; I owe him my life."

When Nkosi was then called back to his husband's room Beckett looked to the senator and told him, "He's alright; they're finding some clothes for him and releasing him."

"I've petitioned his superior to allow him to have some time off," Senator Sumner told them. "And they've agreed to it so I hope he'll enjoy it."

"He will Dad," Sumner said with a smile.

"He'll be able to spend time with his husband and daughter; their family is coming for the weekend and they'll be able to go around with the Castles," Skye said, glancing at Beckett in an apology for the last bit. She wasn't surprised when Beckett just shrugged and then looked at the senator again.

"Your children?" Senator Sumner asked them.

"Yes, our daughters and my mother," Castle said. He then looked at his wife and said, "Is there any way we could get into a tour of the White House? With the Nkosi-Darnleys of course."

"I might be able to arrange that," Senator Sumner replied. "Detective Darnley," he said then, looking behind the two in front of him. He walked over to the man and shook his hand warmly saying, "You're doing alright?"

"Yes sir, just a little cold but I'm well bundled up now," Darnley said with a nod and a smile before he looked up at Beckett and did the same to her as she touched his arm briefly.

"I've given a statement but I assume you'd all like to know about what happened with me?" the senator asked them. When he got a nod from his daughter and her partner he then said, "Well I was in my house having breakfast; late as I stayed up late last night; and there was a knock on the door. Before I could open it Mott kicked it open and was grabbing me." He then held up his left arm, showing the brace on it saying, "I was lucky he didn't break it."

"What about your bodyguard?" Darnley asked.

"Unfortunately you're not the only person I'm here to see at the hospital. Fernando was shot but in the shoulder and it was a through shot," Senator Sumner replied. He then sighed and said, "He was lucky so I'll be checking on him and then Smitten after I leave you."

"Can you go see him?" Darnley asked his partner.

"I can but only briefly," Sumner replied, glancing at her father and blushing slightly.

"I'll walk you to his room first," the senator said to his daughter with a slight smile. "But you're finished yourself once you sign those papers Jodie has," he told Darnley. "And I've managed to get you off until next Tuesday."

"Sir," Darnley said, sitting up a little straighter. He felt his husband squeezing his shoulder so he then calmed down and said, "Thank you Senator, I appreciate it."  
"I was glad to help," the senator said. "I guess you can't head over to see Smitten now can you?" he asked his daughter.

"Not yet, I'll go down to Fernando's room to check on him," Sumner assured her father. When he and his new bodyguard had left them she said, "There was a final diorama."

"What was it of?" Darnley asked before he took the picture his partner held out to him. "Us, no surprise… wait, me dead?" he asked.

"You were in charge of things," Sumner replied. "From what the nurses told me Mott was screaming my father was supposed to be underneath the water and I was going to be the killer."  
"That would explain why you're there alone on the other bank of the river," Castle said, seeing the figure that was her. "The plane?"

"It was for you," Sumner said slowly and grimly, looking at Nkosi.

"Me?" the man asked in surprise. "What have I done?"

"Again, from what the nurses could tell he was saying it was going to be you later in the water," Sumner replied.

"Suicide?" Nkosi asked. "Then he knew you were friends with both of us," he said after Sumner had nodded in response to his question.

"My god, all to keep his job," Darnley said, reaching up and holding his husband's hand as tightly as he could. "He didn't even know it was going to work."

"It looks like he was desperate, he was preparing to start stealing from my dad's new committee," Sumner told them. "As he had from the previous one so he's the embezzler."

"What about the vics?" Beckett asked. "Were you able to tell how he found them?"

"He had a house somewhere in the middle of the three and there was a family that he had; on a list in his car we found with the diorama," Sumner explained. "And he just saw them driving by, I managed to get that out of him as he was lying in his bed in the room he's in. By the way, it looks like he was on meth or some other substance which is how he was able to take you with him over the bridge."

"Anything else?" Darnley asked. "You did connect him to what he got from your ex right?"

"We did, there was some hair in the house in another room," Sumner replied. "So everything really is set. Oh and with the DNA, he'd intended to douse the vic with bleach to get rid of it in some attempt to frame my ex. We found the bottle of bleach at the house too and we're thinking he must have forgotten it and didn't have time to go back."

"Was he in the system?" Castle asked. At the shake of her head he said, "So he didn't even have to do that, just needed to keep from being identified."

"Good thing he couldn't," Sumner said before she turned her attention to her partner. "So you're off Patrick, take the time to rest and have fun with them."

"I will," Darnley said with a smile. "Sorry to leave you with the work."

"I don't mind, you saved my dad," Sumner replied before she leaned down and hugged him as tightly as she could. As she stood up she was surprised when he held onto her hand before she could step away and looked at her partner questioningly.

"Talk to Smitten, tell him how you feel," Darnley said to him as seriously as she could.

"I will," Sumner said before she hugged Nkosi quickly. "Take care and say hello to your daughter for me," she told the two men.

After assuring them that they would Darnley watched her go and said to them all, "So they'll be dating very soon."

"Are you going home now?" Beckett asked, smiling at that.

"Yep, where's Maddy?" Darnley said to his husband as they all started to walk over to the elevators with Nkosi pushing him.

"My parents have her at home; feeding her lunch," the man told his husband.

"Oh, lunch," Darnley said. "Are they all coming with us?" he then asked.

"You could have just asked us," Skye told him teasingly. "And yes, we are."

"Then let's grab lunch from that Irish pub near home and eat with them there," Darnley said.

"What about Mary?" Castle pointed out.

"Calling her now," Skye said before they stepped out of the elevator they'd been riding down to the first floor.

As she was talking to her wife the others went out to the curb where Nkosi left his husband with Castle and Beckett so he could go and get his car.

Standing up Darnley nearly fell back into the chair when Beckett was embracing him tightly. "I'm okay," he said though he was very quickly wrapping his arms around her as tightly in response.

Beckett hurriedly explained what had happened to Castle before she pulled back and said, "And I've also seen footage of what happened after the Air Florida flight."

"Oh, that would make sense," Darnley replied, nodding his head. He then smiled at her and said, "Trev told me you were both about to jump in after me."

"Because we love you," Beckett told him with a smile. She shared a hug with him once more before she let him go and said, "You'll spend time with us once our family is here?"

"Do you really want me to?" Darnley asked. "Us I mean, sorry."

"We would," Castle said, seeing that Nkosi was nearing them with the car. "And- she's coming?" he asked Skye as the woman was walking over to them.

"She is," the investigator replied. "But what she's wondering about; and me as well; is that dinner you wanted to have."  
"I'm fine, a little chilly," Darnley said before he looked over at his husband. "And if you're wondering about the weather we'll be fine. So let's have lunch and dinner together; it'll be fun."

Beckett smiled, as her friend had said that same phrase back when they'd been in the Academy to try and convince her to do something, before she said, "It will be, let's go so he can get back home."

With that the group got into the car which Nkosi drove to the neighborhood that they lived in before he parked at the pub. He walked hand in hand with his husband, ushering Darnley inside and out of the cold though he was protesting that.

Smiling at the sight Beckett turned to Castle as he was taking his phone out of his pocket and she asked, "Alexis?" since it was too early for the girls to be out of school yet.

"Yeah she wants to talk to us and the girls together tonight," Castle replied. "We need to be at the restaurant at six right?" When his wife nodded he texted that back to his daughter and said, "She seems a lot busier than usual doesn't she?"

"Again Rick it's nearly the end of the term," Beckett replied. "So they're going to be giving her a lot of stuff until finals start."

Castle nodded before they went inside with Skye and he said to the couple who were waiting for them, "You're doing what Kate and I have done."

"Excessive caring?" Darnley asked. When his husband looked at him he smiled and said, "I mean that in the best way possible Trev."

"I hope so," Nkosi replied. "So you do the same?"

"When something happens at the end of cases," Beckett began. "If something does," she then corrected herself. "We'll watch over each other and do a lot of hovering." She then stepped up to her friend and whispered to him, "Which translates well once the kids are asleep."

"Wow, you are so perfect for her," Darnley said to Castle, laughing when Beckett lightly pushed at him. "He is right."

"We'll talk about that later," Beckett said. "Sorry Skye," she then said as she was afraid that they were ignoring the woman.

"Oh don't worry about me," the investigator replied. "I'm enjoying the discussion."

"Take him to sit, I'll order with Skye and Castle," Nkosi then said to Beckett.

"Come on, there's no use," she told her friend with a smile, taking him by the hand over to some chairs against a wall.

"I don't blame him for being so concerned," Darnley told her once they were sitting. He smiled briefly and said, "I was too as I was falling, I shouldn't have leaned against the rail."

"You couldn't have known what was going to happen," Beckett said.

"That sounds like you're familiar with that phrase," Darnley said.

"You learn to become accustomed to it," Beckett said with a slight shrug of her shoulders. She then felt her friend's hand on hers and looking to him asked, "Okay?"

"I just wanted to say I'm glad you're alright," Darnley replied. He then explained, "I didn't want to have to explain something to your daughters."

"I didn't want to have to help Trevor explain to yours," Beckett pointed out. She then smiled as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and said, "Have you been feeling nostalgic?"

"Constantly, even the case helped that," Darnley replied. "But you know what? It was awesome to be partners as detectives with you, just for once."

"Agreed," Beckett said, hugging him tightly with one arm before she smiled at her husband as he walked up to them.

"It shouldn't take too long," Castle told the two. "Mind if I join you?"

"No," Beckett said, smiling at that. "You know we're just talking."

"I thought you might be reminiscing," Castle said, sitting on the other side of his wife. "What did you mean though by partners as detectives?" Before they could answer he then continued asking, "Did you ever partner up on patrol?"

"That's a story we'll need to leave for dinner," Darnley said.

Beckett nodded in agreement and then said to her husband, "It's not a long story, but we'll wait until then so we have something to talk about."

"We all will I'm sure," Nkosi told them as he and Skye went to them next.

They talked then about what they could speak about during dinner which took up time until their orders were called. Nkosi and Castle gathered the food and they followed Beckett, Darnley and Skye outside to head back to the car and go home where they could eat and finally start to relax after what they'd gone through to wrap up the case.


	18. Much To Say

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: Definitely pleased with what I got for the last chapter so I'll go right on to my thank yous! TORONTOSUN (Really happy that you liked the bit with the girls telling Castle to kiss Beckett, thought it would be cute having that, lol. And it was nice to see that you also liked how everyone was coming into the chapter this time around) and vetgirlmx (Not surprised you want to hear the story, lol, I figured that would happen since I meant it as a teaser. And I was really glad that I could surprise you with what happened in the end with the case; always great to be able to do that. But I am also glad that you liked the fact that I did that. And yeah, money makes people do incredibly stupid things so that's definitely what I was aiming for there. And yeah, didn't want to go crazy at the end, there were already enough victims in the end. I can't remember now if I wrote this story and the last knowing what happened to Patrick was what happened to Castle; or aiming to make them the same; but yeah it would make Beckett much more concerned since she did that before of course. And it was terrifying, no doubt about that, especially for Nkosi. Yep, wanted to make sure they got the chance to have time together so I'm not surprised you noted that. And really glad you can't wait to see what will happen on their mini-vacation before the girls get there and now you don't need to wait any longer!). Thanks so much for your reviews, I loved reading them and was grateful for the time taken to write them and send them to me!

A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _You Won't See Me_ by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, from The Beatles album _Rubber Soul_.

Much To Say

"I found it," Darnley said as he walked over to where Beckett was sitting on the couch in his family room. "I don't know why I didn't remember this until now," he told her as he handed her a photo album.

Opening it, Beckett smiled as she saw the first two pictures were of her and Darnley one of the times he'd urged her to bring her current camera to the family fun center where they'd played. "You don't seem to have changed too much," she said as the lower picture showed her friend making a face at the camera.

"Except for the hair," Darnley said, touching his slightly graying locks. "But that's hereditary; at least I won't lose it for a while."  
With a slight nod, as she didn't think he'd want to be reminded too much of his father, Beckett flipped through the photo album before she heard footsteps behind them and saw it was Nkosi.

"Sorry but we have lunch ready if you want to eat," the man said, smiling at them both. "What is it?" he then asked his husband, nodding to the album.

"I'll bring it," Beckett said. She then said to Darnley as they were walking over to the kitchen table, "Is there any way you can make copies of these?"

"Oh sure," Darnley replied. "You don't have any pictures?"

"I have no clue where they are," Beckett said. "They might have gotten mixed up with my mother's things and have yet to be found."

"I can work on that and have them ready for you after you leave," Darnley said, about to help her into the chair next to Castle's.

"Hold on, I think I have a right to want to do that," Castle said jokingly as he jumped up then.

"He just wants to see the pictures," Beckett said in a teasing aside to her friend though everyone could hear them.

"Well they are pictures so you'd want to be able to look at them," Castle said defensively though he was smiling at his wife.  
"I'll put it here in the middle to everyone can see," Beckett said. "A lot of these are from outside the Academy since we couldn't really walk around with a camera."

"Well I thought we should try to once but she advised me that our instructors wouldn't really be too happy about it," Darnley said jokingly. He wiped his hands clean after taking a bite of his slider and then said, "This is us on our first day on patrol."

"We weren't together," Beckett explained, watching her husband study it before he turned it towards the others.

"Did he take that one picture that Royce had of you in your uniform?" Castle asked his wife.

"He did," Beckett said.

"Yeah he let me do that," Darnley replied. "And then I went with Officer Thay, remember him?"

"I do, he moved on to captain the 22nd," Beckett said. "I'm going to want two copies of this one," she then said to Darnley.

"He has this picture in his office," Nkosi told them. "He made a copy after he read about you in _Cosmo_ last month."

When Beckett looked at him Darnley told her, "I would have tried to get in contact with you but I'm not sure how far I could have gotten."

"I was looking for you for her," Castle then commented. When the detective looked at him he explained the PI he'd hired and finished with, "You found me first so in the end it worked out."

"Thanks for that," Darnley replied, nodding his head firmly before he smiled at Beckett.

"You should take another picture," Skye suggested. "As a kind of update to this one."  
"We should," Darnley told his friend.

"I'm sure we will… maybe later tonight," Beckett said.

"So you're civilians in that picture?" Castle asked.

Darnley laughed but then said, "I like that idea. Maybe at the pool for a good setting?"

"In front of the windows," Beckett said. "And he can take the shot," she said, nodding to her husband.

"What about this picture?" Mary asked, having turned the page while they were talking.

The group talked about the pictures as they continued their meal and once they were finished and cleaning up they were nearly finished with the book. After the kitchen was clear there was a knock on the door, sending Darnley nearly running to it as his husband rushed after him, scolding him not to do so while the other two couples followed with slight laughter.

"Maddy!" Darnley said when he saw his and Nkosi's daughter.

"Dada!" Maddy said, beaming at him before she reached out to him. She giggled as her father kissed her warmly before she saw Nkosi. "Tata!"

"Come here," Nkosi replied with a wide smile. He held her tightly and kissed her temple gently before he said to his mother, " _Ozibonileyo_?"

Seeing the surprise on Castle's face and the slight surprise on Beckett's, Bethany told them, "It is Xhosa."

"Sounds interesting," Castle said. "I should have asked if you talked another language."

"What did you say?" Beckett directed to Nkosi then.

"He asked if we saw what happened on TV," Bethany replied, squeezing her son in law's hand gently. "And we did. So we are relieved that you are alright. That you all are."  
"Where is Father?" Nkosi asked then.

"At home, he was awake last night again," Bethany replied. "He suffers every now and then from insomnia. And how are you?"

"I'm good," Darnley said with a nod. " _Thank you_ for watching her again."

"Of course, when would you like me to come back for her?" Bethany asked.

"Five Mother," Nkosi said quickly. "And we will go over for breakfast tomorrow."

"Good we will see you then," Bethany said as her son took the baby into the house more. "Have a wonderful night," she called then to the others.

After they'd said goodbye to the woman, Beckett turned to her friend and said, "You know a little Xhosa?"

"I do," Darnley replied. "But very little at the moment. I'm hoping that now we're starting to teach more to Maddy I'll learn it too."

"You might," Beckett said as they went over to the family room where everyone else had gone to. "You picked up on Russian fairly quickly."

Darnley nodded and then went over to pick up his daughter before he kissed her and said, "Your aunt is back for another visit," looking at his friend as he spoke.

"And her uncle too," Beckett said with a brief glance for her husband, smiling at him briefly.

"A quick visit," Castle said, going over to them then and taking the baby's hand, letting her grasp onto his fingers. "But you know we're hoping your dads will let you go with us out to the different places your cousins will."

"I should have said aunts and uncle," Darnley said as Beckett started to open her mouth.

"He's right," Skye said as she and Mary stood up then. "Next time we're here we'll try to make sure her other cousins are here as well."

"She's right," Mary said, grasping her wife's hand.

"You're heading back to your hotel?" Darnley asked, looking at his husband before doing the same with Castle and Beckett as well.

"We'll meet you at the restaurant at six in time for the dinner," Skye said before she went to Darnley, hugging him and the baby who immediately squealed. "We'll join you a bit here and there Maddy; when everyone's here on Friday."

"So you will see them," Nkosi said.

After Mary had hugged the baby and they'd said goodbye to the others Skye followed her wife out to wait for the cab that she had called for. "Have a lovely afternoon," she called. "We're off for an early tea!"

"In their room," Castle said under his breath. When Darnley had closed the door he wasn't surprised when Maddy began to cry. "Naptime?" he suggested.

"It is," Nkosi said.

"We should probably head out ourselves," Beckett told the two men. "So you can get some rest."  
"I'm not exhausted," Darnley said in mock exasperation. "But I appreciate the alone time we'll have. I think the McDouglases do too."  
"And we will of course," Castle commented. He wasn't surprised when his wife slightly rolled her eyes and he said, "The cab'll be here in five minutes."

"We'll see you Maddy; like Skye said," Beckett said to the baby who was fretting though she'd stopped crying. She squeezed her tiny hand before kissing it and then let Castle chuck Maddy under the chin before he said goodbye to her. Since they were going to be seeing the couple soon after she merely said goodbye to them at first before she then went to Darnley and hugged him briefly.

"I'll work on the pictures too," he told his friend.

"You don't have to," Beckett said. "You have time."

Shrugging Darnley said, "We'll see what we do."

As they went to the foyer Castle told the two, "To echo Skye, we'll see you at the restaurant at six."

"Right, say hello to your family for us whenever you speak to them," Darnley told the two.

"We will," Beckett promised before she saw through the glass in the door that the cab was there. After they'd left the house she said to her husband, "What are we going to do?"

"I was thinking swimming again," Castle suggested. "You?"

"That would be nice," Beckett said. "But what about the hot tub we saw?"

"I can ask," Castle replied before he opened the door to let her get into the cab first.

* * *

Standing at the window that was next to the table in the living room Beckett heard her husband walking over to her and she looked to him saying, "We could have gone out somewhere."

"No we couldn't," Castle said simply as he headed over to her then. "Too cold and not enough time really."  
"You just wanted to see me in my bikini again," Beckett said. "And of course wet too."

"Can't forget that," Castle said absently as he was picking up the towels on the table that she'd brought out. When he realized what he'd said he looked up at his wife and told her, "I-"

"Don't try," Beckett said, a smile on her face though at that. "It's a little too late for you to take that back."

"Should I apologize?" Castle then asked her. "Because I really don't want to."

"No, I can tell you want to do it badly again so let's just go," Beckett said, starting to walk over to the door. There wasn't much shock when she was suddenly grabbed by the wrist and when she turned to face her husband she gave him a smile before leaning up and kissing him on the lips briefly. "I want to go too."

"Why?" Castle asked, slightly breathless.

Beckett didn't answer with a reply; instead she ran her hands over his chest through the shirt that he was wearing before giving him another smile. "Let's go before we lose the time we have," she told him. At his nod she took his hand and once she had grabbed the key card for him she led the way out before they made their way to the elevators.

Once down at the pool Castle watched his wife take off her sundress before she turned to him. "I swear that tonight I'll go to sleep when you want me to."

"So I'll hypnotize you?" Beckett asked with a brief smirk at him.

"Go ahead, I'd love to see what you'd make me do," Castle replied eagerly, wondering what her reaction would be to that.

"Take off your shirt Rick, let's go," Beckett told him simply before she went over to the end of the pool that was in front of them. She didn't wait for him to join her, instead slipping under the water and pushing off the wall to begin swimming over to the other side. Coming back up she turned to see that her husband was walking next to her along the side of the pool and she moved to swim on her back telling him, "You changed your mind?"

"Just waiting to see if you want me to join you," Castle said. He wasn't surprised at the glare his wife shot to him at that and he then went down the ladder into the water before ducking underneath it to wet his hair. Swimming back up he opened his eyes only to splutter as his wife splashed him. He immediately jumped after her before she ducked out of the way and went under the water again, making him follow her as swiftly as he could.

After they had gone over to the edge of the pool back at the ladder where Castle had gone in Beckett said to him, "Do you want to race again?"

"Sure, there really isn't much we can do besides that," Castle replied. "Unless you want me to grab some change that we can dive for."

"I'll pass on that," Beckett said. "Come here," she told him as she gestured to him with her finger. As he neared her she smiled at him as he didn't look that surprised and she said, "So this was the other part you were hoping for."

"Yeah but I swear I was going to let you instigate it," Castle said firmly. He then smiled as his wife wrapped her arms around him before they were kissing and he groaned briefly before wrapping his arm tightly around her. Holding her close; and glad that they could stand on that half of the pool; he slid his tongue across her lower lip before she parted them and they were soon dueling together. Until they needed to breathe he let his hands run around her back as much as he could and pulling away from her he said, "I'm tempted."

"It doesn't take much to do that to you," Beckett said in amusement. She then brushed her lips across his and told him seriously, "So am I, I think we should go ahead and swim."

"Right," Castle replied before he went over to the deeper half of the pool. "There and back?"

"There and back," Beckett said simply with a nod. She called out go to him and soon after they began to swim across. She wasn't surprised when she turned back around and found herself behind her husband before he was touching the end before she could. "I still find it unfair," she told him teasingly.

"I-" Castle started to say.

"You should give her a head start," a man said suddenly on the side of the pool. "Though not much, your legs are long."

Going over to her husband Beckett held onto his arm before she said, "We were just leaving."

" _Are you sure_?" Castle asked after they were out and walking to the chez lounge.

" _You see how he's looking at me_ ," Beckett replied a little angrily; though more at the man and not her husband.

"Hey, you two are those writers right? Saw you on the news," the man said as the two were wrapping themselves into towels.

"I guess a lot of people saw us," Castle commented simply as Beckett slipped on her sandals and he followed her. "Luckily the detective we were with was alright." When they slipped out he said, "If this happens to us at the party tomorrow night; or the signing-"

"Don't say that," Beckett told him quickly. "You know it's more than likely going to."

"True," Castle said with a sigh. They soon came to the hot tub and he followed her into it, the heat of the water relaxing him. "Let's hope we can keep this to ourselves for a while longer."

"Believe me when I say I'm thinking the same," Beckett told him with a smile. She leaned back against the side of the tub and with a sigh said to him, "I wish we could have swum around a little more though."

"We have the time to now," Castle said simply and with a smile himself. He was leaning against the wall opposite from her and stretched out his legs before saying, "Money."

"Not the first time we've come up to a case with that as a motive," Beckett said. She then looked thoughtful and nodded before saying, "I agree though, his reasoning was… suspect."

"I wonder if he used more than just meth considering he dragged Patrick off the bridge fairly easily," Castle mused.

"They'll find out," Beckett said. "I know that Sumner will."

"You think she and Smitten will?" Castle said.

"Nice incomplete sentence," Beckett told him with a brief smile. "But I don't know, maybe."

"Will you ask Patrick about that in the future?" Castle asked. "By the way you are going to keep in touch with him right?"

"Yes," Beckett replied first. She then said, "Actually to both of your questions. But I feel really relaxed so why don't we talk about something else?"

"Alright, tell me a story," Castle told her.

"About my time with Patrick?" Beckett asked.

"If you want to," Castle said. "I get the feeling you don't?"

"I do, I'm trying to think of what would be a little quicker," Beckett said musingly. "Oh, our swimming you asked about," she then told him. "We would race too, going back and forth as many times as we could in the water. But we never really kept track of who won."  
"No? Well then I get the feeling I'm the straight, romantic version of him now," Castle said. He laughed when his wife splashed him and he then went across over to her to kiss her deeply as soon as he reached her. Feeling her tongue slip into his mouth he wasn't too taken aback to realize that she was anticipating him before he focused his attention then on what he was doing as he tasted her with complete enjoyment.

Breathing hard as they slowly parted Beckett smiled at him and once they'd pressed their foreheads against each other she said, "If he came in this second…"

"I think he'd be fairly disappointed," Castle said, pulling her then onto his lap. He was pleased when she didn't try to stop him and as soon as she was set they were kissing passionately once again, numerous times as he couldn't seem to stop and neither did she.

Being so involved with one another, neither Castle nor Beckett realized that the man that had interrupted their time at the pool had come up to the doorway of the room they were in. But when he saw what they were doing he turned around and left so when they did finally stop they found that they were still alone.

Swimming away from her husband Beckett stood in the middle and said to him, "We can't really lose track of time."

"I know," Castle said as he turned to place his feet on the middle of the pool. "But that was a nice… break."

"Break from what? Swimming?" Beckett asked him in amusement. "You want to race here?"

"No, this," Castle said before he ducked under the water. He wasn't surprised when his wife was doing the same and they looked at one another before they resurfaced. Wiping away the water from his face he said, "Now time to cool down."

As he took her hand Beckett said in mock fear, "You don't want us to run out in the snow do you?"

"I did that once," Castle said before they got out to sit on the very edge. When he saw that she was looking at him in surprise he nodded explaining, "I was in France, during winter, and the man whose house I was staying at had a sauna. He had me do that and I will tell you that experiencing that once is more than enough."

Beckett couldn't help smile at the image of her husband running out into the snow and she told him, "It's supposed to be energizing."  
"And a little deflating in other ways," Castle explained. "I wasn't aroused, just… in general it is."  
"I'm sorry to hear that," Beckett said, unable to help laugh. "I've done that myself."

"Here?" Castle asked.

"At a cabin of a friend of my parents," Beckett explained. "I was friends with their daughter and we did that in their sauna. You're right, it's not the best sensation but it was something to try once." She then reached over to his thigh to put her hand on it before she told him, "I'm so glad you're not deflating here."

Shuddering Castle said, "Now I could use some cold."

"Get in the water," Beckett said, a smile on her face. She followed him down into it before they started to swim together though all they could really do was float back and forth across it.

After they'd been doing that for a while Castle got out to turn on the jets and for a while they sat with their backs to them before he couldn't help himself. He'd been watching his wife during that time and the desire became too great so he leaned over to her and kissed her deeply before she was wrapping her arms around him and they were once again losing themselves in each other gladly.

Pulling away from him Beckett moved back to the other side of the tub and said, " _You know I didn't mean for us to not consider now_."

A little startled Castle looked at his wife intently and then said, " _When you made me promise_?" At her nod he couldn't help smile and said, "I think I'm done swimming, you?"

"Oh, for a while now," Beckett said, unable to help grinning slightly at him herself. She got out first and once they'd dried off she put her sundress back on and held her husband's hand as they walked together to the elevators outside the spa. They weren't alone so she was reduced to just squeezing his hand but as he was doing the same with hers she knew he understood how she was feeling. On their floor they walked down the hall hurriedly to their room where she went inside first since she still had the key. When her husband walked past her she asked, "What were you thinking?" as she could tell that something was on his mind from the expression on his face.

"Just that I think we should take it easy," Castle told her as he came back to her after putting the towels in the bathroom to dry. "Relax."

"I should probably put my alarm for five," Beckett said with a smile as she grabbed her phone that was still on her nightstand. "Just in case."

Castle didn't say anything to that, just stood near her as he waited for her to finish. Before he could move after she'd set the phone down he was startled when she grabbed him by the waistband of his jeans and pulled him over. "Off?" he asked knowingly.

"Mmm-hmm," Beckett said simply. When he looked at her questioningly she raised her eyebrow and told him, "You don't need my help."

Though he knew he could have very easily been dominated by that statement; and he couldn't deny that he was close to giving in to the desire to; Castle instead pulled off his shirt before removing his jeans. Left in his swim trunks he moved his gaze to her and then untied them before he was pulling the fly open. "Not a sexy sound," he said as the Velcro ripping apart was a little jarring.

"I don't think you need to worry," Beckett said. She looked up from where she'd been blatantly ogling him and told him, "What it's covering more than makes up for it."

"You're that confident?" Castle asked.

Knowing that her husband wasn't serious Beckett smiled widely and then told him, "I am, take them off Rick. Let me see you." She then became rapidly serious as he did so and she saw the extent of his arousal. "Do you-" she started to say, reaching out for him.

"Not like that," Castle said, taking her wrist before she could touch his length as it curved up onto his stomach. He made her stand before he wrapped his arms around her and said, "The curtains are open."

Looking back Beckett saw that he was right but she soon quickly turned back to him to say, "No one will see us here. Come on love."

Before she could pull him to the bed Castle held her in place and then kissed her as deeply as he could. When he managed to tear himself away from her he then whispered to her and was pleased when she turned around immediately. Unzipping her dress he helped her slip out of it before he helped her onto the bed, following her immediately so he could lie atop her as soon as she was on her back. He then began to kiss her, hard, before he then reached in the space between their bodies.

Beckett moaned softly as her husband caressed her breasts through her bikini top and she fought against his tongue still engaging hers before they very carefully parted. Breathing hard she whispered softly, "You want me to…"

"Yeah," Castle said, already knowing what she was going to say. He sat up on his knees as she did so as well and then reached behind her to untie the bikini before he tossed the fabric aside. Smiling at her briefly when she smirked at the way his eyes looked at her breasts he leaned down and brushed his lips very gently against hers before he murmured, "Let me touch you."

"Yes," Beckett breathed, looking on as he began to stroke at her. Gasping when he gently tweaked his fingers around her nipples she reached up to stop him by grabbing his wrists. "Please," she begged him.

"You're ready?" Castle asked. When his wife didn't answer, instead laid back, he didn't follow but instead slipped the bottoms of her bikini off before he moved to lie between her legs. He touched her again, mouth watering as he felt how wet she had become and when she moaned and arched her back he said, "I'm only making love with you."

"I know and I still want you," Beckett assured him, reaching for his shoulders before they both reached for his member. He was soon after sliding into her and she gasped deeply in her pleasure as he filled her. Her eyes closed she waited for him to start thrusting and was relieved when he began to do so, going very slowly and carefully before he called to her to open her eyes.

Staring at her intently Castle didn't stop until he suddenly felt the need to kiss her and continued to do so though he soon moved down to her neck and after her breasts. He stayed to his pace, wanting to in fact make love with her, until he suddenly turned them around. He was surprised when his wife wasn't taken aback and once she began to move at the same pace that he had he leaned over, kissing her again before they started to caress one another tenderly.

After they'd moved so Beckett was on her back again the two continued to move, kissing and caressing each other as much as they could before they finally climaxed. Castle was a bit behind his wife in that but it didn't matter to their ecstasy, both of them holding on to one another as tightly as they could until their pleasure was completely spent.

Lying with one of her legs around Castle's hip and the other pressed against the outside of his Beckett was smiling widely. She ran her hand up and down over her husband's hair before she said softly, "Did you enjoy that?"

Shuddering heavily Castle told her seriously, "I don't think there's any way I couldn't." He raised his head and then kissed her tenderly before they slowly parted and he continued saying, "I missed being able to do that too."

"Did you notice we usually do this in winter?" Beckett asked him.

"I did and thinking about that I'm getting the idea that it's because it's cooler," Castle said. When his wife looked at him he quickly continued with, "Or we just want to warm up."

Rolling her eyes Beckett took his kiss then before he carefully moved away from her and grabbed her with one arm, pulling her close. "You don't want me to see how much time we have?" she asked him as she tried to roll over to look at her phone but he wouldn't let her.

Castle hesitated for a moment before he finally let her go, getting up to follow her. As she was looking at the screen he leaned over, kissing the back of her shoulder a few times before she set it back down. "How much time?" he asked her.

"An hour," Beckett replied with a slight smile. When she lay back down she wasn't surprised when her husband pulled the sheet over them both and said, "They're playing right now."

"With Mari," Castle said with a nod. He rubbed her upper arm before saying, "I just realized that now we can start thinking about tomorrow."

"I know," Beckett said, smiling at his surprise. "There's a lot to it."

"Do you want to ask Patrick and Trevor to join us at the museum and the house?" Castle asked her.

"I think we should let them have time on their own," Beckett replied.

"Again?" Castle asked jokingly.

"I'll ask him but I'm sure he'll say no," Beckett said with a slight smile. "We'll see them more once the girls are here."

"I'm a little eager to see how they are with Maddy," Castle told her honestly.

"So am I," Beckett said with a nod. "So we'll go the White House first," she then said. "After walk to the Octagon House and from there the museum."

Nodding Castle said, "That should be enough time until the signing."

"I hope so," Beckett replied. She then smiled again and said, "And then there's the party."

"Yep," Castle said. "I was going to ask them if they were sure at lunch but I forgot," he said after he'd made a slight sound of annoyance.

"They are," Beckett said. She then smiled and said, "I forgot to tell you that I'll make the party worth your while."

Raising his head slightly to look at her Castle asked, "Really?"

"Of course though to be honest it's also going to be a little for me too," Beckett said. She nuzzled his jaw briefly with her nose and murmured to him, "Either way we're going to be at it for a while."

"You're so sure," Castle stated, trying to keep the excitement and amusement warring each other for prominence out of his voice.

"After feeling you just now I know how we'll be tomorrow," Beckett said. She then pushed herself up and kissed her husband, a few quick pecks on the lips, before she murmured again saying, "I'm already thinking of what we'll do next."  
Shuddering Castle said, "But not right now?" When his wife shook her head he breathed out hard and said, "Then can I interest you in a warm shower?"

"Yes," Beckett said, smiling when her husband looked surprised. She laughed softly and then reached for his hand as they got up, pulling him after her until they entered the shower stall and began to kiss desperately under the water, hands already grasping for one another.

* * *

Climbing up on the bed Julia sat next to her friend and said, "What do you want to do now?"

Shrugging Mari said, "Do you want to keep playing Harry Potter?"

Looking at the wand that she was holding Julia said, "Maybe we should stop. What else did you want to do? Duel again?"

Mari opened her mouth to answer but then shook her head and said, "We can do something else but I don't want to take off my robe yet."

"Me neither," Julia said with a smile. "So you want to play a game on my tablet?"

"Yeah but how long do we have to play?" Mari asked.

Grabbing her tablet, Julia looked at the time and said, "Not that long, only ten minutes. What do you want play?"

"Maybe UNO?" Mari asked, looking with her at the games that she had.

"Why don't I just get the cards I have here?" Julia asked with a smile. When her friend nodded she got up and then went over to her desk where she had a special animal themed deck of the game. She shuffled the cards together and then dealt them before saying, "If you tell Lizzy we played this she's going to want to play."

"That's alright," Mari replied. She then looked across at her friend and said, "I wonder if your parents are finished with the case."

"I hope so! They have plans for tomorrow," Julia said firmly.

"Like what?" Mari asked as she picked up the cards her friend had dealt to her.

"They're gonna go to see the outside of the White House really quick," Julia said slowly, trying to remember as she and Mari had begun to play. "And then go to a place called the Octagon House."

"What's so special about that place?" Mari asked. She wasn't surprised when her friend shrugged and then said, "Is it haunted?"

"I think so," Julia said with a slight laugh. "How did you know?"

"I guessed," Mari said. "That's usually what your dad likes about old buildings."

"Yeah, I think it's supposed to be," Julia said with a smile. She heard footsteps down the hall and then said, "I think that's my gram."  
"It is," Martha said, coming to the doorway of the room. She saw the game the two were playing and told them, "Bring the game with you your parents are about ready to call us Julia."

"We're coming," Julia said with a nod before she then grabbed the main deck of the cards as Mari took the ones they'd set down so far. Going down to the family room she saw that Eliza was sitting on the coffee table and said quickly, "We can start our game over again."

"Yeah, we can," Mari said as her friend looked at her and she got what she was trying to tell her with her look.

"That's kay," Eliza said with a smile. "Mommy and Daddy are gonna call!"

"They're calling right now," Martha told them as she received another text from her son. She rapidly turned on the TV and got it ready before she saw him and Beckett on the screen. "They're all dressed up," she told her granddaughters and Mari as she stepped away for them to see.

"Of course we are," Castle said first, smiling at the three girls on the screen. "We are heading out for dinner tonight."  
"You look pretty Mommy," Julia said, seeing her mother was wearing one of her tailored suits. "And you too Daddy."

"Hey," Castle said though he wasn't at all offended. He then smiled again and said, "You're right, she looks great."

Beckett, biting her lower lip as she recalled how her husband had reacted to her outfit, turned her attention away from it saying to the girls, "One second."

At that moment Castle pressed a button on his tablet which he knew his mother and daughter were doing the same and soon after Alexis was on the other half of the screen.

"'lexis!" the girls cried out before Mari called out a hello to her.

"Hello everyone," the young woman said with a smile. "Dad, Kate, glad to see you're okay."  
"Oh I almost forgot," Julia said, looking to her parents. "Did you finish the case?" She then realized what her big sister had said and she then said to them, "What happened?"

"First we want to hear about your days at school," Castle said. He wasn't surprised when the two girls shook their heads and he groaned saying, "Kate? I'll let you take care of this since it was your friend-"

Beckett cut him off then by explaining about what had happened, being careful to keep out any details for the girls and Mari. "So he's alright, he just got a dip in the very, very cold Potomac," she finished with.

"But he's warm now?" Eliza asked, her eyes wide at her mother's story.

"He is," Beckett said reassuringly. "We had lunch with him and he's doing fine."

"Good so now he can go to your dinner," Eliza said.

After their mother nodded Julia then said, "And now you can be tourists."  
"We can and we're planning on it tomorrow," Castle said.

"Now I want to hear about your day," Alexis said, directing that to the three girls. "You too Mari."

Smiling at her friend as she was blushing Julia talked about what she'd done that day, including recess and her and Mari doing their homework before playing together. "It was fun but we still miss you a lot," she said as she talked about playing Harry Potter again. "And we miss you too 'lexis."

"It sounds like you had a lot of fun," the young woman replied. "What about you Mari?"

Eliza looked on as her sister's friend told the others about her day, wondering why she was so embarrassed. She was interested in hearing what she'd done and she could tell that her family was too. So when the little girl stopped talking she clapped loudly saying, "That was a good story Mari."

"Thanks," the little girl said, blushing a little again in her embarrassment. "I think it's your turn now."  
"She's right, go ahead because they might not have that much time," Martha said, motioning to her son, Beckett and Alexis.

"No, we have time," Castle said quickly. "We're not leaving until a quarter to six. So you can go ahead Eliza but you don't need to rush."

Nodding quickly the toddler talked about her day from the time the bell rang until that moment. "It was fun but I wanna play with you after we come home again," Eliza said to her parents firmly.

"We will," Beckett said in amusement at her tone. "So I think that leaves you Alexis."

"Of course, studying and more studying," the young woman said at first. When her sisters protested that she then elaborated but since there wasn't much for her to say she was finishing soon after. "So they're preparing us for the finals and I will be so happy to finish them up and go on Spring Break," she told them finally.

"Oh, I didn't do much today," Martha said, shaking her hand as the others looked to her. "Talking to friends and looking into a few fabrics for their costumes later this year," she added, motioning to the girls in front of her.

"Okay, so tomorrow-" Beckett began to say.

"We get another day closer!" Eliza said exuberantly, interrupting her mother. "Jules, Jules how many days now?"

"Three days," the little girl replied, smiling at her sister. "And we're getting closer to Spring Break 'lexis."

"Alexis?" Castle asked as his daughter was looking behind her.

"It's Louis," the young woman said, blushing as she turned back to the others. "Sorry we're heading to a movie tonight, actually just some short newsreels from the twenties. I better say goodnight now. Jules, Lizzy," she told them first. "I love you, have fun until I talk to you again."

"Love you 'lexis," Eliza said first, waving to them.

"Yeah, I love you too," Julia said. "Have fun too if you can. Have fun tonight!"

"I'll try," Alexis said with a smile before she turned to look at her dad and stepmother on the screen. "Night Dad, Kate, love you."

"We love you too kiddo," Castle said as Beckett nodded next to him. After the young woman said goodbye to them he turned to the others and said, "Don't worry if she can't talk to you tomorrow."

"We heard her say she's busy," Julia said before she then smiled widely at them. "Are you going now?" she then asked.

"Wow, that took longer than I thought," Castle said, showing his wife the face of his watch.

"I see," Beckett said, pushing his arm away as the girls giggled. "I guess now it's our turn to say goodnight. I love you Julia, Eliza, we'll talk tomorrow, a little bit later since we need to go to that party after the book signing remember."

"That's okay," Julia said. "As long as we get to talk to you I'm happy."  
"I will be too," Eliza was quick to say.

Smiling briefly at her little sister Julia then said, "I love you too Mommy."  
"I love you Mommy!" Eliza cried out. She then looked at Mari and said, "You can say too."  
"I think I should say goodnight," Mari replied, laughing. "Night Rick, Kate."

"Goodnight Mari," Beckett said with a nod.

"Night Mari," Castle said before he then looked at the girls. "I love you girls. Sweet dreams tonight."  
"Love you Daddy," Eliza said first. "You have sweet dreams too 'cause you are on vacation!"  
"I will," Castle said with a slight laugh.

"I love you Daddy," Julia then said. "And I agree with Eliza, have fun tomorrow."

"We will," Castle said before he and Beckett said goodnight again to everyone before he turned off the TV. "Alright, I think we better get going," he said as he turned to her.

"You were shoving your watch in my face, now you're unsure?" Beckett teased him before she stood up. When he followed her she reached out and placed her hand on his chest telling him, "Not again."

"Oh come on," Castle mock whined as he recalled kissing her so passionately that they'd nearly fallen back on the bed after they'd dressed.

Studying him Beckett was able to see that he was serious underneath his teasing and she leaned over to him then, kissing him on the lips hard. She wasn't surprised when he was able to recover rapidly from the abruptness of that and she wrapped her arms around him as he was doing the same to her. She began to tilt her head back and forth as they were dueling a little playfully inside of her mouth and when she jerked back with a gasp she said panting, "That was enough… I hope."

"For now," Castle said, breathing hard as well. He reluctantly let her go; missing the feel of her in his arms as soon as he'd done so; and turned his attention to getting his coat on. He watched her at the same time to make sure she didn't have any trouble with hers before he pocketed the room key and left with her. Once in the cab on the way to the restaurant he closed the partition and said, "While I'm a little… annoyed having to leave the room I'm interested in talking more to Patrick."

"You've done that already," Beckett said, studying him.

"This time the case won't be hanging over us," Castle said, taking her hand. "And I've seen those pictures."  
Rolling her eyes Beckett couldn't help her smile at his eagerness and she looked out the window to watch the city pass them by until they reached the restaurant. Stepping out with her husband she heard her name being called and saw that Skye was leaving a cab after her wife. "Any idea if Patrick and Trevor are here yet?" she said as the two women got close to her and Castle.

"No idea," Skye answered.

"I would guess yes," Mary then said.

Surprised for a moment Beckett turned with Castle and they saw the couple getting out of another cab. She went straight to Darnley and hugged him tightly saying, "You didn't want to drive?"

"We didn't want to risk it," Darnley replied, hugging her back with a smile. "Let's get inside, it's freezing and I don't think my unscheduled swim helped." He was slightly surprised when his friend slid her arm through his and he looked at her questioningly before he took her into the restaurant. Luckily with their reservation they were being led to their table though there he let Castle help her sit.

After ordering drinks with everyone else Mary said to Castle and Beckett, "We've been here before."

"So what's good?" the former asked her.

"Anything," Skye said before her wife could reply to that. "Literally everything is good here."  
"Does this place have Michelin stars?" Castle asked in surprise.

"One," Darnley said. "And it's our treat tonight." He shared an amused glance with his husband when everyone started to protest and then said, "It's the least we can do now we're all together and after the help you all gave us."  
"Not sure what I did," Mary commented. "But glad to do so."  
Smiling as the others laughed Nkosi said to the other two couples, "Did you all speak with your children?"

"We did," Beckett said.

"So did we," Mary added.

"Our girls are fine though they sounded a bit cooped up since it's raining today back at home," Skye said.

"Ours are doing well too, they kept mentioning how much they missed us," Castle added with a smile. "And they're still counting down."

"Of course they did since it's vacation time for them," Darnley said. Their drinks arrived then and after they'd ordered their food he said, "I know we talked about toasts the other night but I think this one needs to be said. To us getting together, in mine and Kate's case after a very long time."

"Cheers," Beckett said with a smile as she tapped her glass against her friend's after doing that first with her husband.

"So now that we're waiting," Castle said, looking over at her. When his wife nodded he couldn't help squeeze her hand tightly before saying to Darnley, "Tell me about you two on patrol."

"It was towards the end of our training segment once we'd joined the force," Darnley said after Beckett had nodded to him. "Royce fell ill with a heavy cold… it wasn't the flu right?"

"If it was the flu he wouldn't have talked to anyone," Beckett said, not surprised when the others looked confused.

"So he called my TO and they allowed us to take our shifts for a week together," Darnley added.

"And? Don't leave us out in the cold with that!" Skye said, making her voice go up at the end.

Beckett laughed with the others and as Darnley began to talk about their first outing together as partners she glanced at her husband. She had to wonder if he was jealous at all but as she studied the expression on his face she could tell that he was genuinely interested. So her mind felt free to slip back into the memory of that day and how she and Darnley had had a relatively easy shift that first time together.


	19. Much To Say (Part 2)

_"So here we are," Darnley was saying as he pulled out of the parking lot for their station. "Together on patrol."_

 _"Yes, are you going to state the obvious today?" Beckett asked him in mock irritation._

 _"I don't know, it might help," Darnley replied as he was driving to their beat._

 _"So we're walking through mostly residential," Beckett said as they neared it. "Though there are some stores and bodegas."_

 _"Alright, that's about what I have myself," Darnley said with a nod. "So I'll go ahead and let you take the lead on this." They drove in silence for a bit before he then said, "How is it there?"_

 _"Not bad, except when you get to the bars on the weekends," Beckett replied. "That's when it gets interesting."_

 _"From the stories you've told me…" Darnley began before he looked at his friend as he stopped at a red light and they soon started to laugh heavily together until he needed to drive again._

* * *

"Wait, she told you stories?" Castle asked indignantly. He looked at his wife and seeing her slightly concerned look told her, "I'm kidding Kate, just a little, tiny bit jealous."

Smiling as he made a gesture with his fingers Beckett said then, "So the patrol was basically routine until we started to walk."

"Is this going to end bad, good or funny?" Skye asked.

"Good," Darnley said, looking to Beckett. "I wish…" he said.

"I know, so did I," she replied with a nod before she took up the story again.

* * *

 _Walking together down the sidewalk Beckett watched the children playing on the sidewalk and said, "No school?"_

 _"No, holiday for the school… in service day?" Darnley explained before trailing off on his question._

 _"Policia! Police! Help me! Ayuda me!" a man was yelling then as he stepped out onto the stoop of the brownstone where he lived. He waved to Darnley and Beckett and yelled, "I need help, my wife is going to have a baby."  
Having run over to the man as soon as he started to yell, Darnley reached him first and said, "Did you call paramedics?"_

 _"I did but the baby, it is coming too fast," the man said in obvious distress. "Por favor, help her… please…" he said as he took them by the arms._

 _"You-" Darnley said turning._

 _"Don't be sexist," Beckett snapped. "I don't know how to deliver a baby either; only what they taught in training." She let the man lead her and her partner to the first floor apartment where he lived with his wife, going first into the back bedroom at his urging. When she saw the woman there in obvious pain she forgot her hesitancy and rushed over the side of the bed, taking off her hat. "Señora," she said soothingly, taking her hand. "_ We're here to help you _."_

 _"I'm on it," Darnley said as his partner looked to him. He stepped outside slightly to contact the ambulance he'd managed to get to learn where they were._

 _"Stand there," Beckett said to the man as she realized by the way the woman was grasping her hand desperately that the ambulance wasn't going to get there in time to help them. "You need to see where the head is."  
"But I-" the man said, becoming paler._

 _"Here, I'll help you," Darnley said, giving the man some plastic gloves he'd already had. Putting on a pair of his own he then checked the woman and said, "Kate? She's close."_

 _"Okay, you know how to push don't you?" Beckett said. "You took classes?"_

 _"Yes," the woman managed to say as her contraction eased off slightly._

 _"Then when the pain starts again you have to push," Beckett said before she heard someone running inside._

 _"Please I'm her sister, is Conchita alright?" the woman said as she came into the room._

 _"Here, stand with her and help her push," Beckett said firmly to the woman. After she'd taken her place she rushed into the bathroom, grabbing items she knew they'd need and hearing the screams of the woman named Conchita outside in the room growing in intensity from the pain she was feeling. When she came out she saw that Darnley was alone and she handed him the pair of scissors she'd managed to sterilize before seeing the father was gone and asking, "Got sick?"_

 _"Panicked," Darnley answered shortly. "I didn't want him fainting on her, you can see the head."_

 _"I don't know how to do this either," Beckett repeated, a little unsure of herself as she looked at her partner._

 _"Partners?" Darnley asked._

 _"Partners," Beckett said, setting down the towels she'd brought. There began a few minutes of pushing and she helped the baby herself out past its shoulders and coaching Conchita through the last push with Darnley's help she took the baby girl as she slipped out onto the towel that she had ready for her. "Okay, she's breathing," she said breathing a little hard as if she had gone through the labor. "Get the father," she then directed to Darnley before she used another towel to clean the baby the best she could. "See, she's fine," she said then to the mother, holding up the baby to her. After the father had managed to cut the umbilical cord she held the baby while Darnley managed to tie it off with the string she'd found. "Here she is," she said soothingly as she walked around the bed. Rocking the baby to get her to stop crying she gently handed over the girl but tried to be quick about it._

 _"Thank you so much," the woman said in English, tears in her eyes. She began to cry as her husband came over to her and nearly forgot about the police before saying, "Please, what are your names?"_

 _"I'm Officer Patrick Darnley and this is Officer Kate Beckett," Darnley answered._

 _"Caterina," the woman told her husband._

 _"Bueno, a good name," the man said quickly, nodding his head. "Patricia?"_

 _"You don't have to," Beckett said, seeing her partner was as embarrassed as she was._

 _"It is a good name," the woman's sister said._

 _Before Beckett or Darnley could say anything to that the paramedics arrived and they left the room, going out to the kitchen to discard their gloves before they went together outside._

 _"So… hell of a shift," Darnley said first as they looked at each other._

 _"And it's just barely begun," Beckett said before they walked down the steps to the sidewalk._

 _"After seeing that," Darnley began. "Want to have kids?"_

 _"With you?" Beckett shot back teasingly._

 _"Um… pass," Darnley said. "I'm still not sure whose hair they'd get. Yours or mine… or a crazy mix. Or the genes would duke it out."_

 _"I don't know," Beckett said honestly after they'd continued to walk. "I would but not at the moment please."_

 _"Sure," Darnley said. "We going inside?" he asked as he saw they were approaching a bodega._

 _"Yeah," Beckett said before making him stop. "If you stay," she told him as he looked at her questioningly. "Partners okay? I can't imagine doing this with anyone else."_

 _"Definitely," Darnley said with a smile which she soon returned before they went inside the store to continue their shift together, looking forward to it more._

* * *

"You delivered a baby?" Castle said when his wife and Darnley had finished the story.

"Amazing that happened your first day," Mary said.

"I honestly forgot about it until yesterday," Beckett told her husband.

"No, I liked hearing it," Castle assured his wife. "I'm just amazed you were okay having Eliza after seeing that."

"Was it difficult for you?" Trevor asked her.

"No," Beckett said. "It took a little time… eight hours," she said, looking at her husband for confirmation as he'd looked at the time more than she had.

"About that," Castle said with a nod.

"Luckily I had Mr. Comedy here to distract me," Beckett said, nodding to her husband.  
"You told jokes," Darnley asked in amusement.

"Stories, stuff that made her want to throttle me but not because I got her pregnant," Castle said.

"You said that?" Darnley said to his friend questioningly.

"No," Beckett replied, rolling her eyes with a smile. "I swore, hard."

"In four languages," Castle said proudly.

"I slipped in some French," Beckett said with a slight laugh. "That I'd learned."

"Doesn't surprise me," Darnley said. "But we really thought we'd be partners."

"We did," Beckett said. "But now we're back in touch we can just be civilians and friends." She then said to them all, "So we're all aware of how we've met right?"

"You mean the couples of us?" Skye asked her. At Beckett's nod she then smiled and said, "Now what, our first times?"

Looking around them Castle said, "I'm game," before he playfully jumped as Beckett slapped his arm with the back of her hand.

"No, I was just checking," she said in response to him.

"Well, we could talk about the basics of that," Darnley said. When Beckett looked at him in shock he said, "I'll give you an example. For Trev and I it was romantic and careful since neither of us had had many lovers in the past."  
"He is right, we needed to hide who we were from the public so we only had so much experience," Nkosi said in agreement with his husband.

"Alright, I'm game," Mary said with a smile to her wife who was shaking her head and covering her face with one hand. "It was about six months into our relationship and we were on Catalina; in Avalon."

"We were taking a weekend jaunt," Skye said, knowing she couldn't keep her wife from speaking. "And we were romantic too; careful since it was our first time period."  
Seeing that the two men weren't surprised Castle said, "You know a little about them?"

"We do, in the time since we have met them it was not hard to find out about them," Nkosi said.

"You two?" Darnley asked, looking at Castle and Beckett.

Relieved when their food was then delivered Beckett ate a few bites before she realized that the others were looking at her and Castle. Sighing she said, "It was a little… rough at first."

Since his wife was looking at him Castle told them the story of what had happened before Beckett had come to his place since Nkosi was the only one out of them who didn't know. He then told them about the kisses they'd exchanged before he then said, "But it was romantic… at least I hope so. Love?"

Smiling and shaking her head when her husband looked at her in mock concern Beckett told the others, "It was. And now we're set right?"

"I think so," Darnley replied. They ate for a bit longer before saying, "Tell us where you're going."

"I'd like to hear more too besides a few places you shouted out to us," Skye said teasingly.

Castle couldn't help laugh slightly before he then gave an itinerary of where they'd go each day the girls were there. "Have any of you been to Williamsburg?" he asked them.

When everyone but Darnley had shaken their heads no Beckett said, "There you should join us, it would be a nice trip to take together."  
"We'll go if you're serious about the invitation," Skye said with a smile as Mary nodded in agreement with her.

"We are," Castle said.

"We'll see how cold it is," Nkosi said as he shared a look with his husband.

"Since we have Maddy of course," Darnley told them. He then said, "I have been but it was way, way back when I was in grade school."  
"So you can't be our tour guide?" Skye said jokingly.

"Unfortunately no," Darnley said with a laugh. He then spoke about what he recalled of the trip at the others' insistence and they went through the rest of the meal all recalling past field trips in school and a few other subjects. After he and his husband had paid for the meal and they went to get their coats and the front he said, "Who's going to Rick and Kate's hotel?"

"We're going to head back," Skye said. "I need to prepare for our press conference tomorrow."

"Good idea," Nkosi said, nodding with a smile. "And there is the party too."  
"Of course," Mary said as he then hugged her wife. She hugged the others as well and she and Skye called goodnight to them, promising to see Darnley and Nkosi at the press conference and Castle and Beckett at the party that night.

Taking a taxi together to the hotel Castle and Beckett led the men over to the pool which was still open and they sat at the four lounge chairs together before Castle brought up the picture they'd talked about earlier.

"You can take it with your phone," Nkosi said with Castle.

"Over here by the window Kate," Darnley said as he stood up.

Beckett didn't bother to protest as she wanted to take the picture, unable to help feel some slight nostalgia as they stood in front of the windows with their arms around each other. Waiting for her husband to take a couple pictures, she looked at the screen first and smiled saying, "Not much has changed."

"We're going to head over to the bar," Castle said, glancing at Nkosi who nodded. "Bring us some drinks." After he got the orders from the two he and the investigator left, wondering what Beckett and Darnley would end up talking about while they were gone.

"So you really talked to my husband about our love life," Beckett said to Darnley as soon as they were alone. She quickly held up her hand and said, "Don't make a joke, please don't."

"You're no fun," Darnley replied, effecting annoyance.

"You remind me of Rick when you get like that," Beckett said.

"Huh, maybe he's the straight version of me," Darnley replied.

"Maybe," Beckett said with a slight smile. "But while I think you're attractive I don't really want to be with you that way; I never have." She then took his arm and led him to one of the large chairs along the side of the pool and once they were sitting there together told him, "Spill."

"Alright, so I did," Darnley replied. "But I had to know; you have to remember what we talked about. I'm assuming you told him," he said, nodding his head to the side.

"Of course, he is my husband," Beckett replied. "And I'm assuming you've told Trevor about what we talked about."

"Yep, when I saw your first book I went on your husband's site…?" Darnley began, trailing off into a question then.

"I left it for him though I think the commentators there ascribe it to both of us," Beckett replied.

"Oh, well when I saw that I looked up what I could there and saw you'd married him," Darnley said. "I told Trevor about you and told him a lot of stories, though I'd forgotten about the baby for some reason." They were quiet for a moment before he said to her, "You're happy?"

"Very," Beckett said reassuringly. "And if you have any questions as to how we are go ahead and ask. I just beg you not to ask for details."  
"I've seen hetero sex so details I know already," Darnley replied.

Beckett rolled her eyes and smiled as she knew her friend was joking but she was surprised to see him suddenly become hesitant. "Ask Patrick, we talked pretty loosely when we were together in the city," she urged him.

"You won't be offended," Darnley said slowly. "We were young and new… ish to sex."

"I was never into the sex," Beckett said. "You knew that. Ask."

At her firm tone of voice Darnley smiled and said, "So you're not having sex."

"If you talked to Rick I know already that he referred to it as making love," Beckett replied.

"Is he forcing you to do anything?" Darnley asked.

Sighing Beckett said, "I'm assuming you're thinking of how he's been in the past." When her friend nodded she leaned back against the chair and looking up at the ceiling told him, "He doesn't force me to do a thing. In fact he's very giving."

"You mean he gives you control?" Darnley said in slight surprise.

"He tries to," Beckett said with a nod. "In the end we're largely even and at the end he's taking care of me."

"So he wasn't kidding about making sure you had the pleasure," Darnley said. When his friend nodded he said, "I wasn't expecting that to be honest."

"There are straight men who will do that," Beckett said, knowing her friend was joking. "You and Trevor?"

"We're about the same as you are," Darnley said with a nod. "Though we try to play around a little; not full out role play but we talk."

"So you're doctors," Beckett said in amusement.

"Hey… yes we are," Darnley said, feigning annoyance at first though he had told her about enjoying that idea back when they'd been in the Academy. He thought of something and then said, "Are we too open?"

"If we were we'd be relating everything in as much detail as we could," Beckett pointed out. "And so you know Rick and I do that sometimes."

"Play?" Darnley asked in surprise.

"I didn't do it too much at first," Beckett said. "When we worked in the handcuffs it wasn't so much role playing but just having them there. But when we got costumes I decided we could flirt with the idea."

"You're kidding," Darnley said.

"It doesn't last," Beckett said.

"Hard to keep up the act," Darnley said in agreement. He then studied her and when she looked at him questioningly he said, "I saw the first issue of _Cosmo_ that you were in."  
"Oh?" Beckett asked with a smile.

"Yep, I knew how much you liked him," Darnley began. "So I thought why not have a look at it. Boy was I shocked to find you there."

"I can imagine," Beckett said with a smile. "So what did you think?"

"First I was glad the reporter wrote about you nicely," Darnley said. "I would have been pissed if she was unnecessarily mean."

Beckett laughed and said, "You and Rick are a lot alike. He was concerned about how I'd be written as well."

"Yes, so it was a nice article," Darnley replied. "But I couldn't help thinking in my mind as I looked at that picture, what did you do to your hair?"

"Why doesn't it surprise me you said that?" Beckett asked, shaking her head.

"How many times did I tell you," Darnley said jokingly. "Long and full makes you young," he said, hitting his palm with the side of his other hand after every two words. He laughed then when his friend pushed him to the side and he then said, "But you look great you know." When Beckett shrugged he then said, "What does he think?"

"Of my hair?" Beckett asked. At her friend's nod she then said, "He has a… kind of an obsession with it."

"Do you mind it?" Darnley asked. When she bit her lower lip and turned her head to the side he said, "It's arousing?" He got another nod and then smiled saying, "Good, always nice to have your husband lusting after some part of you."

"What if it's basically all parts?" Beckett asked.

"Then I'd say we're both lucky," Darnley said with a firm nod of his head. He and Beckett started laughing together before he continued saying, "So we're both happy."

"We can keep saying it but it doesn't change the fact that we are," Beckett replied, teasing him a little. "You're happy being a husband."

"Extremely," Darnley said with a nod. "Since I never thought I would be one," he continued, saying that honestly. "You being a wife?"

"I wouldn't have been for nearly five years," Beckett said simply. "And being a father?"

"I wasn't kidding when I said I wanted to be," Darnley replied with a nod. He smiled and said, "When we got Maddy she was so adorable it was… amazing to have her with us. It made us feel more like a family though we didn't have to have a kid for that."

"I told you I love my girls and I wasn't kidding," Beckett replied. "I can't wait to see them."

Smiling at the look on her face Darnley said, "Just one more time; we are happy."

"I think we are," Beckett replied with a laugh, looking with him over to the entrance to the pool to see their husbands coming in with their drinks. "Busy at the bar?" she asked as she and Darnley stood then.

"Either that or we were giving you enough time to talk," Castle said with a smile.

Rolling her eyes Beckett took her drink and said as they went back to the lounge chairs, "What will you do the next two days?"

"I'll be heading with him to his news conference. His and Skye's," Darnley said, nodding to his husband.

"She and I tried to get you in too but they would not let us," Nkosi said. "And after that we will spend time with Maddy."

"A lot of time with her," Darnley said. He smiled and said, "When your girls come that night come over for dinner. Unless you had plans?"

"No, we didn't," Castle said quickly, looking to his wife.

"We'll come over, so our girls can have a play date," Beckett said, smiling as well.

"Maddy's first," Nkosi said to his husband. "And my parents will be able to meet your daughters as well."  
"And my mother," Castle reminded them. They were silent after that and he took a few sips of his drink before he said, "So."

"I'm not telling you what we said," Beckett said simply, not looking at him.

"I will, told me about your night last night," Darnley said, nodding to Beckett. When the couple looked at him he laughed and said, "She didn't."

"How could you tell?" Nkosi asked, looking at the two and then his husband.

"I may have been focused on the case but I can still notice things," Darnley said. "Plus at dinner the looks you kept exchanging could have melted butter."

"Did you say you were born in this area?" Castle asked. "You sounded like you were from New York."

"Or Boston," Darnley said. "By the way, that's where the couple that named their daughter after us moved to."

"She must be around… eighteen by now," Beckett commented.

"Seventeen or eighteen," Darnley said with a nod. "Hope she's doing alright."  
"So do I," Beckett said.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Darnley suddenly said as he reached into the pocket of his jacket, handing Nkosi his glass. Pulling out a small book he then handed it to Beckett saying, "I had the time."

Since she knew what it was already Beckett opened it to around the middle and smiled at the sight of the pictures of her and her friend. "Thank you," she said, leaning over to hug him with one arm.

"After you head back home," Darnley said. "I know we'll keep in touch but how?"

"E-mails and calls," Beckett replied, shrugging her shoulders. She then said, "We want to invite you up to our home whenever you can."  
"Really?" Darnley asked.

"Why wouldn't we?" Castle asked. "You've had us in your home; only fair we reciprocate."  
"Would it be possible to go in the summer?" Darnley asked.

"Near summer," Beckett said before she looked at her husband.

"Memorial Day," the two said at the same time.

Darnley laughed and said, "I never thought I'd meet someone as in sync with Kate as you are Rick."

"You were as much as me?" Castle asked, wondering if that was the case.

"Not that much," Beckett said. "We were better with unspoken signals."

"Yeah, like that whistle on the bridge," Darnley said. "I had to ask him the question," he told his friend.

"Can you whistle too?" Castle asked him.

"Nah, I'm more hand signals," Darnley replied. "We would do a lot of the Morse code in classes."  
"Not because we were bored," Beckett said before her husband could continue. "It was more to help one another out."

"I wish I could have been there to see the two of you," Nkosi commented before he drained his glass.

"So do I," Castle said when he finished his drink as did Beckett and Darnley.

"Alright, we'd better head back home," Darnley said. "Get some rest for tomorrow."  
"We should do the same," Castle said. "Since we're going to be walking a lot."

"What time should we get there for the party?" Darnley asked as they all stood up, leaving their glasses behind.

"We're getting there at eight," Castle said. "There'll be food so you don't need to eat dinner before if you don't want to."  
"I'm looking forward to seeing another part of your life," Darnley said to his friend as he leaned over and hugged Beckett tightly.

"A small part, we're not always going to these parties," she replied, hugging him tightly. She hugged Nkosi briefly before she and Castle said goodbye to them once they were in the lobby and they stayed to watch the two men go out to the cabs in front. Once they were gone she reached over to him and took his hand, walking over to the elevators. "That was nice," she told him.

"It was," Castle agreed, surprised when they were alone in the car. "Hopefully they'll still enjoy tomorrow even with that press conference."

"I'm sure they will," Beckett said, smiling at him when he entwined their fingers. She let him lead the way to their room and once inside she let go of him as he locked the door and she looked at the photo album in her hand for a moment before he walked over to her. "We should get ready," she told him.

"Sure," Castle replied with a nod before he followed her over to the bedroom where he watched her set the album aside.

Beckett changed quickly with her husband before they finished preparing for bed and she went to it first, sitting against the headboard before she picked up the album again. She began going through the pictures, the smile that first appeared on her face growing wider before Castle came out to her.

"Anything to add to the stories behind those pictures?" he asked before he sat next to her on the edge of the bed.

"Not really," Beckett said. She then looked at her husband and said, "I talked with him about him and Trevor; no details just checking to make sure they were good together and he was satisfied."  
"Judging by the fact that you're not upset at this moment I guess that he is," Castle told her.

"He is," Beckett replied before she then talked a little about what they'd said to each other. "So you weren't kidding."

"What, you thought I'd just make that up?" Castle asked. When she smiled at him he leaned over and kissed her gently before he pulled away and went over her to climb onto his side of the bed. "So," he said, "There is one picture-"

"Oh don't start," Beckett said before she smiled in amusement. She let her husband take the book from her and watched him flip through it until he got towards the end. She sighed and said, "We had to go on a mock date that night. It was our first and only one we did."  
"You didn't go on more than one," Castle stated.

"No," Beckett replied, shaking her head. "Just the one and that's because we went with Jacobs. And he realized what we were doing then as well."

"Was he going with a man or a woman?" Castle asked.

"Oh you noticed that didn't you?" Beckett said with a smile.

"I did," Castle said. "A woman?" he guessed. When his wife nodded he then said, "And the picture?"

"We went back to his apartment," Beckett began. "And we were still dressed up so we thought it'd be a lark to take the picture together. So we did."

"You both cleaned up nice," Castle said. He then saw that his wife was smiling to herself and asked, "What is it?"

Beckett quickly told him what Darnley had said about her hair and said, "He always used to tease me about it since I just threw it into a braid back then. And he always told me I should keep it long. Just a suggestion he was never serious about it though."

"He knows what looks best on you," Castle said. They were silent then and he looked on as she closed the photo album and then set it aside on her nightstand. "Now what?" he asked.

"I was tempted to tell him more about us," Beckett replied. "Not our love life, more what we've gone through in the past. But I'll see when I can do that otherwise I'll leave it for when we're talking on the phone or something at home."

Castle nodded to that and then said, "That was a weird case."

"It was," Beckett said with a nod. "But at least it's wrapped up. We need to concentrate now on our vacation before the family vacation."  
"I really wish we didn't have to go to the signing and party," Castle said, groaning in frustration. "You know while I do the signing you can-" he started to say.

"No," Beckett interrupted. "I'm going with you because I need to keep you company."

"Good idea, I've had so many signings on my own I'm afraid I'm going to snap," Castle said, pretending to sound annoyed.

Shaking her head Beckett moved to lean against him and whispered, "I never told you about how we said goodbye to one another."  
"No, I had the feeling that was a more emotional moment," Castle replied. "And one you wouldn't really want to share."

"I do now," Beckett said. "Since it was just a pause in our friendship. Granted a long one but…"  
Castle wrapped his arms around his wife when he felt her doing so to him and he kissed the top of her head telling her, "Whenever you're ready love."  
Beckett smiled slightly and then began with, "He flew out of JFK and I offered to take him there. Since this was before 9/11 I could go up to the gate with him but he didn't let me stay for too long before he boarded…" The memories of that day came to her rapidly but she could smile about them as she knew she wasn't going to get out of touch with her friend that time around. Shaking her head she then continued, almost seeing what she was telling Castle in front of her.

* * *

 _"Okay, so I have my ticket," Darnley said. "And my boarding pass, always important." He looked then at his friend and sighed saying, "I'm s-"_

 _"Don't," Beckett told him, shaking her head rapidly. "You want to go home and I can't blame you. I think I would have done the same if I was in DC."_

 _With a brief nod Darnley went to the window with her to look at the plane parked at the end of the jetway and said, "I don't want you to stay for much longer."_

 _"I had a feeling you'd say that," Beckett replied, turning to him then. "Do you want me to go now?"_

 _"Not yet," Darnley said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. When she did the same to him he smiled and then said, "Try not to bury yourself in work Kate."  
"Be careful," Beckett responded, looking at her friend seriously. "And try to be yourself; things will get better for you. I can feel it."  
"I hope you're right," Darnley said seriously. "If you get married let me know." He smiled when his friend nudged him in the ribs and he then told her, "Then let me know if you fall in love; I _have _to meet the guy."_

 _"Me too," Beckett said before they shared a smile. She grew serious and told him, "Try to find someone too, you were meant to give love Patrick."_

 _"If it's because of how I acted with you I told you I'd always wanted a sister," Darnley said seriously._

 _"It's not that," Beckett said. "You can't always hide."_

 _Looking over at the gate and the airline employees going to the desk next to it, Darnley let go of her and said, "You better go. But I'll try my best."_

 _Hugging her friend as tightly as she could Beckett said, "When I make it to detective I'll tell you."_

 _"I'll do the same," Darnley replied. Embracing her back just as firmly he said emotionally, "This one's the hardest goodbye I've had."_

 _"Yeah," Beckett said, not bothering to try and be stoic; she knew it'd be an insult to her friend if she held back her emotions._

 _"You've been a great friend Kate… such a cliché but it's how I feel about you," Darnley said as they parted, holding her by her arms. "And I've never been so open. How did that happen?"_

 _"I know," Beckett said in amusement. "You figure we would have become enemies or something."_

 _"Exactly," Darnley replied. He then said, "Head back to see your dad Kate, take care of him and yourself. If you get any leads, take them as far as they can go and don't lose yourself."_

 _"I'll try," Beckett said. "Tell them, whenever you feel the time is right tell your family," she said._

 _"Alright," Darnley replied before they embraced one last time._

 _After letting go of her friend Beckett almost literally pulled herself away from him before leaving. But before she could get out of sight from him she turned and looked to see Darnley watching her. She gave him a wave and a smile before he did the same and she finally forced herself to turn around and leave before she could try to go back and wait for him to go._

* * *

"It was difficult as I'd never really talked to my friends about the things Patrick and I did," Beckett told Castle after she'd paused once she'd finished her story. Smiling she told him, "That includes my girlfriends."

"Strange how that happened," Castle told her. "Since I figure telling another woman about the sex stuff would be easier."

Beckett couldn't help laugh softly and then said, "I wasn't in the habit of dishing with them. When you talked to Maddie did she say much about that?"

"But you didn't sleep with anyone then," Castle said. "Oh, you mean just talking about it in general. Well she wouldn't tell me about that… ah, now I see."

"If the subject came up I wouldn't contribute too much," Beckett said. "And of course with teenage girls it came up." She sighed and said, "You're not bored."

"Thank you for not saying that in a question," Castle told her with a slight smile. "You know how I'd answer that."

"I do," Beckett replied.

"And I like that you're more adventurous with positions," Castle said. "When you do other crazy stuff the sex itself is boring. Now, we should probably change the subject."

"Why?" Beckett asked in slight amusement.

"Because I'm in risk of being aroused," Castle replied.

"You and me both," Beckett said with a smile.

"Okay, tomorrow," Castle said, letting go of her so he could look at her. "For breakfast I want to take you out."

"Where?" Beckett asked.

"Not sure," Castle said honestly. "But I'll ask the concierge to try and find a place for us. So we'll go and then walk to the White House?"

"You want to go somewhere close," Beckett said.

"Yep, luckily it'll be easy to find a place using that landmark," Castle joked. "And then after the Octagon House for the tour and finally the museum."

"We're set," Beckett said simply. When her husband had finished nodding his head she reached out to him and grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him to her before their lips met. She was relieved when he kissed her hungrily very quickly after that and she then held onto him before he pulled her onto his lap and they held one another desperately as their tongues were dueling back and forth in their mouths. She had no idea how long the kiss lasted, only that it seemed to be a good chunk of time before she knew they both needed to breathe.

"Are you tired?" Castle asked, starting to stroke her hair.

"No," Beckett said in amusement. When he asked her what was so funny she said, "I'm really wondering why you have to touch."

"I enjoy it," Castle replied. "And don't try to tell me that you don't because you've never said anything to me."

"I do enjoy it," Beckett said honestly. "But I'm also remembering what Patrick used to tell me about it."

"You asked him for hairstyle tips?" Castle asked her.

"He would give them to me whenever I put my hair in a braid remember I told you," Beckett said. "Again, jokingly." She looked at her husband when he didn't reply to that and she smiled saying, "You want to?"

"Huh?" Castle asked before he turned to her. "Oh, no I didn't," he said when he realized what she'd asked him. "Do you think I could…?"

"That reminds me," Beckett said, getting up then off of his lap. She smiled when she heard his groan of disappointment and then went into the bathroom to grab her brush. When she went back to the bed she wasn't surprised in the slightest to see her husband sitting on the edge again, holding out his hand to her. "I don't know that many men do this for their wives."

"Neither do I, want to go around and start asking them?" Castle asked as he waited for her to get on her knees in front of him. He wasn't surprised when she looked back over her shoulder at him and then said, "I don't know, I find it soothing."

"Intimate too," Beckett said, feeling a shiver race down her spine as the brush went over her scalp.

"But not so far that it's sexual," Castle pointed out to her. He went through her locks carefully until he had to give her back her brush when he was finished.

"Don't sound so sad," Beckett said to him teasingly as she left the bed to put away the brush. "You'll have the chance to do that again soon I'm sure."

"Still," Castle replied. He then said, "Since we're remembering things, there's something I wanted to ask you."

"About our past or mine?" Beckett asked.

"Ours," Castle said. "When we wrote our first book." He wasn't surprised when Beckett looked a little perplexed at that and he clarified telling her, "The dedication you gave me."

Beckett couldn't help smile widely at that and told him, "I meant what I said, though remember it was in Irish."

"I just wonder you quoting a song…" Castle said since she'd used a lyric from Paul McCartney's song _India_.

"Because it was the best way to try and reassure you of what I wanted," Beckett said simply. "And I meant what I said, granted it's not really all there but you know the song so you know what I meant."

Castle nodded once to that, looking thoughtful before he looked over at his wife and saw that she was looking at him. "It just came to mind," he explained.

"Very late to mind," Beckett said with a slight smile as she slipped her legs under the covers. "Rick?" she asked, seeming to be worried about him.

"Sorry, I'm fine," Castle said. When she looked doubtful he told her, "I asked Patrick while we were talking that night if he thought I was crazy."

"Missing me?" Beckett asked, wondering why he hadn't mentioned that before.

Nodding Castle replied, "It's concerning mainly because I've never felt that way about a woman before."

"What did he say?" Beckett said.

"First he asked if I was afraid of feeling that way about you," Castle answered. "When I told him no he seemed pretty relieved; I'm guessing that's stemming from his talks with you?"

"It is," Beckett said. "And I'm sure he told you that you weren't."

"After I let him know this was the longest we'd ever spent apart in our marriage," Castle said. "He wondered at first why we didn't just go on this tour together but I reminded him of the girls. And then he got really worried until I told him if the tables turned I would so stay home to watch them."  
Smiling at his tone of voice Beckett said, "I'm glad you would. Come here under the covers it's freezing and you're making me cold just watching you."

Glancing down at his bare feet Castle moved to join her before he said, "Too bad we couldn't go to that conference."

"We've been to one before," Beckett said simply.

"True but you know I like to feel involved," Castle said. When his wife looked to him with one eyebrow slightly raised he hurriedly corrected himself saying, "Pretend that I'm involved."

"Thank you," Beckett said teasingly. She leaned against him then but before he could wrap his arms around her said, "I almost forgot."

Watching her Castle saw that she was grabbing his journal and said, "Where are you?"

"The fourth entry," Beckett said before she sat next to him again. " _Day four_ ," she began to read, smiling up at him as he looked slightly self-conscious.

 _Day four love and I'm probably going insane… well, not really but I find myself constantly lonely. Even at the book signing today and walking around too, lonely as hell even with everyone in Savannah around me. I went to some places you'll remember from GA but I wish you could have come with me. Even though you're the Scully to my Mulder it would have been great to just explore because I knew you would have loved the history of the places. Not the affair Sorrell had with Molly but the other stuff. The brewery was creepy but I'm kind of glad you didn't go since I would hate for you to be affected like you were in Edinburgh._

 _Still, can't forget that you're not with me and it's driving me nuts to have it so constantly on my mind. But let me try to move back to the city, it's nice here I wish I could show it to you… What do you think about trying a cross country trip? Maybe all forty eight states? Maybe not home in New York… though we could go up to Rochester where that toy museum is and make our way through New England. I'm getting excited about it already though we obviously need to discuss it but I think I just want us to be back together, traveling together this time around._

Beckett paused there as there was a stray line of ink and she looked to her husband saying, "You slipped?"

"I threw my pen," Castle said, smiling but without any mirth in that.

Not surprised to hear that Beckett leaned over and gently kissed him on the cheek before he turned his head. Though she wanted to go back to the entry she let him kiss her as she couldn't resist his tongue stroking against her own. She went along with him for as long as she could until they parted and she pressed her forehead against his gently. "Should I keep going?" she asked after they were quiet for a while.

"Yeah, it's why I wrote it," Castle replied with a slight nod.

With a nod herself Beckett brought the book up closer to see it and she then read, " _I want to write here how much I miss you but if I end up filling this journal it's going to be a really boring read_."

 _So instead I'll be a little nostalgic since those memories really help me out. Remember our first week with Eliza home? I recall looking at you and realizing that I loved you more, because you were a mother again but also because you were taking a huge step into the unknown. Caring for our newborn daughter and protecting her, loving her. Her first birthday I think we had the best birthday we could have ever given a one year old. Just us playing with Eliza and Julia and the dinner we had with the rest of the family that night._

 _Sorry about that enormous period at the end of night up there but I was recalling how we made love that night. I was a little greedy wasn't I?_

"You weren't," Beckett told him, smiling at her husband. "If you were greedy, then I was as well, insatiably."

Castle couldn't help kissing her again but kept it short before he nodded to the book, "Keep reading."

Turning to it Beckett went back to the sentence she'd left off on and then read, " _I shouldn't recall you yet, it's still a little bit of time until we talk alone but since I've spoken to the girls I need this now_."

 _I think I've told you how you feel when we're together so I don't need to say it again but I wish… I wish I had you right this second. It's that addiction- there I'm reminding myself not you- and I've never reveled in it as much as I have since we were first together. But there's a downside to that and I've just discovered it; distance._

 _Self gratification works in a pinch but I don't want a pinch I want to make you call out my name and feel you. It's more than just biology that makes me desire you as much as I do. It's the fucking need I have to take you and know our souls are going to join just for that brief instant before we're back to normal and the aftermath of what we've done together._

 _I can't take it love; I need to call you now_

Smiling at the stray mark after that last word Beckett said to her husband, "I had wondered why you called me so soon."

"I was lucky that you were ready to start," Castle said. "How many times were we fooling around?"

"For a few hours," Beckett replied. "You took a shower after right?"

"I had to, I was covered in sweat," Castle said. He watched her then put the journal on the nightstand and held out his arm to her. "It's an addiction," he said very simply. "I'm thinking of tomorrow night already, of what we can do together."

"We'll look at our book together," Beckett said simply before she leaned over and kissed his jaw a few times. "I was remembering our relationship too while you were gone."

"A lot to recall," Castle said.

"Hmm, more of how the two of us eventually grew as lovers," Beckett said.

"Yep," Castle said. When she glanced up at him he explained, "If you ever worry that I'm bored with how we are again, thinking that I want more than what we do, remember that entry and the others that are coming up. I wouldn't be desperate to be with you if I was bored or had enough."

Beckett bit her lower lip and said, "You don't want to play?"

"How we play now is more than enough," Castle said reassuringly. "But you know… maybe we can try and do slightly more if it'll make you feel more secure."  
"Maybe," Beckett replied with a smile. She leaned over to him then and kissed him, pleased when he did the same to her and she held onto him tightly before he pulled her up onto his lap. Their tongues dueling together again she trembled when he clutched at her and she felt the pleasure seep through her entire form. When they stopped and were apart from one another enough to speak she told him, "I wish I'd kept a journal myself."

"You could write one still," Castle told her.

"It would be the same as what you've said in yours," Beckett replied simply, shrugging her shoulders. "But I thought the same as you. For now, we should get some sleep."

"Sure," Castle replied, leaning over to turn off the light on his nightstand. After she'd done the same he laid down with her and he pulled her to his side before he told her, "I love you Kate."  
"I love you too Rick," Beckett said, smiling though she knew he couldn't see it. She then said, "Tomorrow we'll explore a little."

Squeezing her gently Castle said, "A little being the key words." He then started to speak but then hesitated, not surprised when his wife urged him to continue. Since he knew he couldn't hold back he then said, " _Would you wear that special thing you had for me the other night_?" using special for her negligee since he didn't know the word in Irish.

" _Is that what you want_?" Beckett asked, getting a sudden idea in her head at that suggestion. When he nodded she smiled and said, "I think I might manage it."

"Great," Castle said though he rubbed her upper arm gently to indicate it wasn't the only reason why he wanted her the next night. He turned his head and kissed her forehead before murmuring her name. Since his eyes by then had adjusted enough he could see her raising her head before their lips met and he kissed her very gently. When they'd parted he sighed and said, "Night love."

"Night Rick," Beckett said before she closed her eyes. Tired after what had happened that day she was closing her eyes and fell asleep to her husband stroking her hair again, soothing her greatly.

Watching her closely Castle pulled her a little nearer to him before he then let himself close his eyes. He began to dream as soon as he had nodded off and of her, his memory going back to the night he'd spoken of with her and he indulged in the recollection as he was aware when he awoke he'd have Beckett with him. Knowing that he wouldn't be alone made the dream that much sweeter and he took great enjoyment in what he saw and experienced with his wife until the next morning.


	20. When You're Wide Awake

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: Happy to get the feedback for the last chapter that I did so going straight to my thank yous! MichelleBell16 (Not surprised you're glad that the case is over or that they can enjoy their down time together, I thought readers might be, lol. Oh, I'm also not surprised you're looking forward to the girls and Martha going down to DC for their vacation next. And I'm so happy that you like Beckett reuniting with Darnley as well as their stories from back during the Academy as well as the one from when they were on patrol. And of course it's great you can't wait to read more which you don't need to do anymore!), TORONTOSUN (Really happy to see that you enjoyed the flashbacks that were in the last chapter, was hoping readers would. Also great that you enjoyed the bit with Castle and Beckett talking alone at the end!) and vetgirlmx (Great to read that you thought the last chapter was very nice. And I was glad that you enjoyed how they were spending time with their friends and catching up as you said. And of course I was really happy you liked the flashbacks in this one, I'm always interested in knowing if readers do. You're right, they do explain Beckett's and Darnley's relationship but sometimes they're for fun and to show another side of them as you said. So pleased you're eager to them planning on spending time with their friends once the girls are there. And yeah, I wanted the pictures for Beckett to have some nostalgia as well as to have tangible evidence of those memories too. Happy to see you can't wait to see what's next and now you don't need to!). Thanks so much for your reviews, I greatly appreciate the time taken to write them and send them to me and loved reading them as well!

A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _Great Day_ by Paul McCartney, from his album _Flaming Pie_.

When You're Wide Awake

Stepping outside of the diner Castle finished putting on his scarf before he asked his wife, "All set?"

"Yeah, at least we're not too far," Beckett said.

"And it's a good day for walking too," Castle said, nodding up to the clear sky. They then started to walk and after he'd taken her hand he asked, "Will you be okay walking around?"

"Sure, we will be walking remember," Beckett assured him. "You're sure you won't be bored?"

"I want to remind you that I'll have the architecture to look at," Castle said.

Laughing briefly Beckett nodded and said, "That's true." She looked around them and as she could tell they were nearing the White House she reached over and slid her arm through her husband's, leaning against him slightly. "I'm going to wait," she told him.

"Wait… you mean to take pictures," Castle said. When she nodded he smiled and said, "That's true, we'll be back here anyway. This is just a sneak preview for when we come back with the others."

Beckett shook her head while she smiled at that before they came to the landmark and they looked at it as they stood among the other tourists. As they were doing that she glanced over at her husband after a while as she had begun to notice that he was continuing to look at his watch. "Are you late for something?" she asked him.

"No, whenever you're ready we can go," Castle told her simply.

"I'm ready now," Beckett said before they started to walk to the west. She looked at the lawn of the house as they were passing until they were coming up to the house. "Pretty," she said.

"It's late Federal Style," Castle told her as they paused outside it and looked at it. "For the Tayloe family from Virginia." When he realized that his wife was looking at him he quickly explained, "I looked at the book we have."

"I had a feeling," Beckett said in amusement. She started to pull away when her husband made her stop and she looked at him in confusion before she heard their names being called behind them. "Skye?" she asked in surprise. "And Mary," she then continued as the two women reached them. "So you made it."

"You saw the conference?" Skye asked.

"At the diner where we ate," Castle answered.

"Luckily it went quickly," Skye said.

"Do you know about this house?" Beckett inquired as they walked towards the entrance together.

"Of course," Skye said. "And we've heard too it's supposed to be haunted."

"Is that why you came?" Beckett asked, glancing at her husband.

"It is, he asked me yesterday while you were talking to the others," Skye said. "And I told him not to tell you the reason why we joined you."

"You don't have to hide the reason from me," Beckett said, trying not to laugh at that.

"Still," Mary said before they entered the house.

Since admission was free they were walking through the entry, looking up at the ceiling while Beckett was taking pictures. As they went into the first room Castle stopped them and said, "Are we splitting up?"

"We don't need to," Skye said, shaking her head.

"She's right," Mary said, looking over at the mantle above the fireplace in the room.

"Alright," Beckett said with a sigh. "Spill you guys."  
"We're going to see if you and I can't find something," Skye said, not surprised to see Castle looked unsure at that.

"Like what?" Beckett asked.

"Have you heard the stories of the house?" Mary then asked.

"Rick told me," Beckett said, nodding to her husband. "Judging by the stories he said, one of the daughters?"

"Yes but you realize the story of two of the daughters dying on the stairs is unlikely true," Skye said to her.

"Really?" Beckett asked.

"Where did you hear that?" Castle asked in surprise as he hadn't heard that from what he knew about the house.

"Wait until we go upstairs," Skye replied simply.

Beckett was taking pictures of the house as they made their way through it on the bottom floor before they headed upstairs. In one room she was surprised when Skye took her by the wrist and led her over to window looking out on 18th Street and she asked, "Who're we trying to contact?"

"Ann, their youngest daughter who was born here," Skye said. She nodded to Castle and took the recorder that he threw over to her as he and Mary were staying at the doorway, blocking it. "Kate, I know this goes against what you believe but-" she started to say to the woman.

Taking the recorder before Skye could continue Beckett said, "Ask the questions please, they're not going to come to me if I ask obviously."

Skye nodded slightly before she turned to the room and called out, "Ann? Ann I've heard you've been seen here do you think you can come to us. There's a red light here, come and talk into this and we'll be able to hear you." She paused for a moment and then continued with, "Tell us if you can why you're here when you died in Baltimore."

Looking at Beckett, Castle was surprised when she didn't roll her eyes in annoyance at the situation and he kept his gaze on her as Skye was speaking again. Something was bothering him as he watched his wife but he wasn't quite sure what it was exactly.

"Ann we're going to play back this recording," Skye said. "If you want to hear your voice you can."

Handing over the recorder to her friend Beckett watched her play back what she had recorded.

"Did you hear that?" Skye asked, stopping suddenly in between the two questions that she'd asked.

"I did," Castle said, Mary nodding. "Play it back."

Doing so Skye put the recorder more towards her ear and glanced at Beckett as she leaned towards her. Before she could press play she stopped and glanced over to the other side of the room with the investigator. "The floor is old," she said quickly.

"Did you two hear that?" Skye asked.

"Hear what?" Mary said, looking confused as did Castle.

"Footsteps, liked they walked through that wall to the window. It's not the floor," Skye said before directing the last to Beckett. She played the recording and after the voice sounded she looked at her friend. "You heard that," she said she raised her head.

"I did," Beckett finally had to admit.

"Did that say Elizabeth?" Castle asked as he recognized the look on his wife's face.

"It did," Skye replied, motioning to him. "Mary?"

"I'll keep watch," the woman replied. "What're you going to do?"

"Elizabeth Tayloe died when she was young, twenty six," Skye said quickly, motioning Castle to the other side of the room, away from where they'd heard the footsteps. "You want to head over there?"

"Sure, there's nothing there," Beckett said, going to stand in front of the wall. She looked around and then said, "Are you talking still?"

"Yeah," Skye replied. "Elizabeth, I'm sorry we mistook you for your younger sister," she then called. "You can talk to us now, into this red light. Why are you here, I know you didn't die at this house."

After a long pause Beckett was going to tell them that they were wasting their time when she breathed out and it plumed in the air.

"Kate! Skye, look," Castle said, trying to move to go to his wife but unable to at all.

"So you're here Elizabeth," the investigator said, stepping over to her and stopping abruptly when she felt she had to. "This is Kate and she has a daughter with your name; is that why you're here with her?" After what she felt was a long enough pause she asked, "Are you okay?"

"Cold," Beckett confessed though she was still wearing her coat. "You can't move?" she asked her husband as she saw he seemed to be struggling.

As soon as she'd spoken Castle felt as if something released him and he went to stand next to Skye. "Elizabeth," he called to the spirit. "Let me go to her I won't hurt you."

"He's right," Skye said when she looked over at him. "I'm stopping the recorder."

When he heard the click of button on the recorder Castle took a step forward and as soon as he took the second he felt the rush of cold air all around him. Groaning as it was nearly painful he said, "Kate?"

"Yeah?" Beckett asked, looking up at him.

When she didn't blink Castle reached out to her and grabbed her before he had to hold her when she staggered against him. "Okay?" he asked worriedly.

"Bring her here," Mary said, having run in to them.

"I'm fine," Beckett said. "What?" she asked as she looked at the three who were looking at her in concern.

"You weren't blinking," Skye said. "I think she was trying to possess you."

"Not blinking?" Beckett said.

"Let me go back," Skye said then.

"Don't!" Mary cried in a panic, reaching over for her wife.

"I need to wrap this up," Skye said grimly, looking to Beckett. "Take her outside the room and keep her there."

"You think she might attach herself to her?" Castle asked.

"I do, this won't take too long," Skye said.

As Beckett was led outside near the railing to the staircase she said to her husband, "How long was I like that?"

"About a minute, luckily Skye stopped with the recorder," Castle said as they looked back into the room at the two women.

"Elizabeth, if someone comes to you, try and speak with them," Skye was saying. "I hope you could do so on this," she then added, holding up the recorder. "We're heading out now," she said, looking over at Castle and Beckett nodding their heads before she noticed that her wife was doing the same. "We'll leave you in peace just don't follow us through."

"Feels normal," Castle said then.

"It does," Skye said with a nod. "Okay we can go now," she said as she and Mary left the room.

"Luckily we saw enough of the house," Castle said.

"You saw all of the house," Mary said, having detoured to look around the rooms on that hall, the third floor blocked off. "Skye?" she asked as they were heading down the stairs.

"Yes _grá_?" the investigator asked.

"I think the renovations up there might have brought her back," Mary said.

"That might be it," Skye said. "Come on," she said as Beckett stopped walking ahead of them. She took her friend's arm and led her outside until they were in front of the house. "We should listen to this, see what we get."

Leaning down Castle wasn't surprised to see that Beckett wasn't doing the same but before he could comment on that he heard something in a pause between his talking to the spirit. "Here," he said, taking his recorder. He rewound it and then playing it felt a shiver as he said, "She said 'stop Kate'."

"You must have been fighting her," Mary said as they looked to Beckett.

"I…" Beckett began to say, a little uncomfortable then.

"She would," Castle told the two women. "Because of what happened with Mr. Boots. But I'm glad you did that, or your subconscious," he told her seriously, looking into her eyes.

"I don't know," Beckett replied, a little at a loss for words besides that.

"Cold?" Skye asked. When her friend looked to her in surprise she said to Castle, "There's a café near here, we should take her there and warm her up."

Though he really wanted to Castle held off on speaking as they walked after the couple ahead of them. It wasn't until they were sitting around a table and his wife had some tea that he said, "You've dealt with this before."

"Once," Skye said, glancing at Mary.

"Tell us, I'm interested in knowing," Beckett said as they were obviously doing their best not to meet her eyes.

"It was in the engine room of the Queen Mary last year," Skye began. "And in one area I felt a heavy, heavy chill and that something was wrong. But before I could turn to my wife and our girls…" There she snapped her fingers and told the two, "I was in the restaurant on the upper deck and Mary was shaking my shoulder telling the sailor with me to let go."  
"How did you know it was a sailor?" Castle asked. "Could have been a passenger."

"Not where I picked him up," Skye said, shaking her head. "Luckily that got him away but I was like you, very cold and lethargic. Though since you have it less I take it he managed to stop her from attaching to you."

Seeing the two women exchange a look then Beckett asked, "What?"

"I think he's your protector," Mary said simply, smiling at Castle.

"Protector?" he said in surprise.

"You've seen _Ghost Adventures_ ," Skye said. "And I'm only using this as a better example to explain it; you'll understand what I mean better than anything else I can say. But Aaron is the protector of the group, he's cautious about the others but he still investigates."

"That would be me of the two of us," Mary said, raising her hand then. "So it's definitely you Rick."

"You've experienced things before?" Castle asked her.

"Oh of course, hard not to when you're with someone who senses things like Skye does," Mary replied. "But this has only happened to you once before?"

Nodding hesitantly Beckett said, "I can't really be-"

"You are," Skye said. "Your experience being shot."

"That would mean that you almost died when you were six," Beckett said.

"You never saw the full medical report on me," Skye replied. "My heart stopped during transport but the paramedics got it started again before we reached the hospital. It happened one more time, as they were transferring me to the bed where they fixed me up. Again it started but it nearly happened a third time and I ended up being very touch and go for at least a week."

"I was never that bad," Beckett said, smiling slightly at her husband when he reached over to her for her hand.

"Then it's likely why you're not experiencing things more," Skye said before studying her. "I wonder what it was about Mr. Boots that brought all of this about."

"What are you thinking?" Castle asked slightly uncomfortably as the two women looked at him and Beckett.

" _Did you two do anything while you were going through Europe last year_?" Skye asked then.

"Like what?" Beckett asked, wondering what exactly she was referring to that she needed to say it in Irish.

" _A blood ceremony_ ," Mary said. She couldn't help share a smile with her wife when the two immediately looked stunned before they glanced at one another.

"Tell us," Skye said.

"There's not much to tell really," Beckett said. She shared another look with Castle before she told them, "We did it while we were in Ireland."

"By our home?" Mary asked.

"No," Castle said. "We were between Donegal and Galway and she and I had driven out to the coast that night…"

"What gave you the idea?" Mary asked.

"A book I'd gotten while we were on our honeymoon," Castle said. "I threw the idea around in my head for nearly four years until I had to do it."

"I'm sure you've guessed but he had to convince me," Beckett said. "Not for all that long though."

"You'll have to tell us in more detail now," Skye said with a smile.

Beckett glanced at her husband and then began to speak beginning with, "We were in our hotel room and he told me, 'Want to attempt to bond our souls a little more physically?'"

"He did?" Mary asked, laughing.

"I did," Castle said. He let Beckett speak again to tell them her reaction to that as he recalled it himself to help her tell the rest of the story.

* * *

 _"A blood ceremony?" Beckett asked her husband as she leaned against the dresser in their room._

 _"Yeah, we'll go… somewhere," Castle said hopefully. "And we'll nick our wrists a little and press them together. Preferably a beach so our blood could fall into the water." He watched her then, wondering how much he would have to say to convince her to agree to it when she spoke._

 _"What beach should we go to?" Beckett asked. She wasn't surprised when her husband looked at her in shock and she smiled before saying, "I've heard of the idea, a friend of mine that I lost touch with before we met saw that at a family member's wedding. But they just tied a piece of white fabric around them to hold them together. But I never liked that idea, seemed too bondage to me during a moment that's supposed to be very meaningful."_

 _"So you want to go," Castle said with a smile._

 _"I do," Beckett said, pushing herself off the furniture to walk over to him. She wrapped her arms around him before he did the same to her and she said with a smile, "Let's go, right now."_

 _"Great," Castle said before he kissed her. He kept it brief before he pulled away but couldn't go very far before he was kissing her yet again and much deeper that time. As soon as they had parted he gathered what they would need with her help before they left, texting Alexis who he knew was likely still up so someone in their family would know where they were. He drove them to a deserted section of the coast and parked on the side of the road before they walked together down to the beach._

 _After they had off their shoes and socks Beckett took her husband's hand and walked with him into the water. There was a full moon luckily and she could see him enough to read the expression on his face. "I never considered this until now," she told him._

 _"Okay," Castle said, hearing the sincerity in her tone of voice. He then said, "You or me?"_

 _"Me," Beckett replied. She gave her husband her arm and watched him nick the skin just under her hand with the knife he'd brought sterilized and watched the blood appear._

 _Quickly cleaning off the knife Castle did the same with his left wrist and hastily discarded it to the blanket they'd set out before pressing against his wife. He looked on with her as their blood eventually began to mingle together and fell to the ocean below. His heart was pounding roughly at the sight of it and he looked at her to see a slight expression of wonder on her face._

 _Beckett glanced to her husband and she smiled slightly before looking back down and amazing at how his pulse felt against her racing one. She felt a shiver travel through her though it was inward and she licked her lower lip slightly feeling literally his life against hers._

 _Castle wasn't sure how long they kept them like that but soon he moved away saying, "This is it; when I say I'm not even going to consider another woman I sure as hell mean it. Not when your blood is a part of mine."_

 _"I'm thinking the same," Beckett replied before she threw her arms around her husband as tightly as she could while he held onto her just as firmly while they began to kiss a little frantically. Her wrist throbbed where it pressed against his shoulder and she knew that he was feeling the same as his pressed against hers. When they parted she smiled and then let him lead her back to the blanket where their hands ran over each other to undress so they could add a finality to their vow to one another they'd never discussed doing but felt they absolutely had to._

* * *

" _Sorry if that disgusts you but it's what we did_ ," Castle said, wondering why he'd told the two about them making love after.

" _You didn't go into detail so we appreciate that_ ," Skye said. "But that does seem to be the catalyst. And since you've told us about Alcatraz and what happened there I see it took that to bring your openness to that world. Just make sure you're with her if she goes into a well haunted area," she said, finishing by talking to Castle as she held up her finger to him.

"I will," he promised. He then turned his attention to his wife and said, "I think we should go if you're okay now."  
"I am," Beckett said, smiling at him. "And I think we should give out an invitation."

"To us? I feel so special," Mary said in mock exaggeration before she laughed with the others. "But you really want us to go?"

"We do," Beckett said, not surprised to see Castle nodding in agreement with her out of the corner of her eye. "If you want to join us."

"We will," Skye replied. "Let's go before you're late for the signing," she said before they stood up together to leave.

* * *

"I just want to make sure you won't be bored while I'm busy signing," Castle was telling his wife as she slipped her arm through his.

"I won't," Beckett said with a sigh though she was soon smiling. "But they'll enjoy seeing it as they said they would."

"You don't want to invite Patrick?" Castle asked her.

"I think he'd rather spend more time with Trevor for now," Beckett replied as they stopped and looked at the item in front of them. "We'll see them at the party."

"So this is it," Castle commented. "Bonnie and Clyde's death car."

"You're tempted to feel sorry for them but I can't help forgetting they were criminals," Beckett said, looking at her husband.

"I know," Castle said with a mock suffering sigh before he looked at her and smiled. "I think it's the romanticism of them, they were in love."

"I've seen the pictures," Beckett said. She nodded down to the plaques in front of them and said, "There's one there right now."

"Very true," Castle replied with as he glanced at it. In it the criminals were posing for the camera, Clyde holding Bonnie next to him and he couldn't help say to Beckett, "I'm glad we were them… sort of."

"For a couple nights," Beckett said with a smile. They continued to walk through that section until they reached an exhibit on Dillinger and she looked at the death mask of the criminal.

"Did you ever hear about how people thought he hadn't been shot?" Castle asked.

"Mmm-hmm," Beckett replied easily. She then smiled and said, "You know he got plastic surgery right?"

"Yeah, I don't believe the conspiracy," Castle said. He glanced at his wife and when he saw her smirk he laughed and said, "I know, hard to believe isn't it?"

"Oh, we made it back to the lobby," Beckett said after they'd left the room.

"Hey we're getting some stuff for our girls," Mary said as the two approached where she and Skye were in the gift shop.

"Like what?" Castle asked, trying not to sound amused. "Oh! Toy cars, I'll be back ladies."

Watching her husband go Beckett looked at her friends and said, "I really hope he's looking for Eliza."

"Likely," Skye said, glancing at the toy police cars he was looking at. "What about Julia?"

"I think these," Beckett said, picking up a box of crime scene tape band aids. "And a pen which I'll grab for Eliza too."

"Kate," Castle said, coming over to them. "What do you think? It looks like the first patrol car you were in."

"Yes," Beckett said with a slight smile. "But let the girls play with that most of the time."

"Of course," Castle said before he looked down at what she was holding. "For Julia?"

"And Eliza…" Beckett said before she saw what he was showing her. She smiled when she saw it was a pad of paper shaped like the outline of a body at a crime scene and said, "Mr. Body?"

"She wouldn't buy it but I think she'd enjoy using it," Castle said. "And of course the car she can play with too since her sister will share."

After agreeing to what they'd chosen the two met Skye and Mary out in the lobby before they left and they all took note of the time.

"So it's incredibly early," Castle said. "I'd like to invite you two back to the hotel, to swim?"

"Rick, you can tell me you plan these things in advance!" Beckett said, pretending to be angry at the fact that he'd asked the couple that some time before then. She then smiled at the two and said, "You'll join us right?"

"My bag is full of bathing suits," Mary said. "And cover ups so don't get excited."

"I am but about my wife," Castle told her seriously before he smiled as Beckett pushed at him slightly. "We'll get lunch and then swim and we have enough time for that until the signing. What do you think?" he asked his wife.

"Let's get going," Beckett said, walking to the curb to hail a cab. As she was doing that she smiled at her husband before he and the McDouglases joined her before one pulled up to them.

* * *

" _So no one ever saw you right_?" Skye was asking as they were waiting for their tea.

" _Not as far as we know_ ," Castle replied. " _We were lucky as the water was far enough from the road and it also dipped down sufficiently to give us some cover_."

" _I just hope that wasn't private property_ ," Beckett said with a slight laugh.

" _I doubt it_ ," Mary said.

" _What about you two? Or I shouldn't ask_?" Castle said.

" _We did the same in Ireland_ ," Skye said. She glanced at her wife and said, " _Near our home in the water there because we know that feeds into the ocean_."

" _I can see you're going to ask and no we weren't naked_ ," Mary said quickly to Castle.

" _Did you ever experience anything before then_?" Beckett asked her.

Shaking her head Mary replied, " _It was as if doing that opened me up to it, though she has most of the experiences_."

Seeing Beckett looked to be a little uncomfortable with the subject Skye then said, "Were you planning on taking longer than you did today?"

"Yeah, didn't realize that museum was closing," Castle said. "But at least they had most of the stuff I wanted to see there." He smiled and then said, "Tomorrow we'll likely be out longer."

"Did you two have anything in mind?" Beckett asked.

"Of course, we're heading to Baltimore for the day," Skye said. "I've been there before; back when I was in training here; but Mary hasn't been to see it. So we'll go around and be tourists for the day."

"Sounds like fun," Beckett said. She saw the look that her friend was giving her so she explained, "We're going to Embassy Row."

"That's it?" Skye asked.

"We might get a later start so it's not that cold to walk around there," Castle said. "And we'll stop for lunch too, take our time."

"Until I need to get back because I have a treatment he got for me," Beckett said, nodding to her husband with a smile.

"Really? How sweet," Mary said.

"If you want I can try and talk to the spa here so you can get something," Castle said.

"We'll be in Baltimore all day," Mary replied, taking her wife's hand.

"Really? Hotel room and all?" Beckett asked with a smile.

"Just for one night," Skye said with a slight incline of her head. "Though we splurged a bit and got a balcony."

Since their tea was being served then no one could continue and for a while they were all busy getting their cups of tea ready as well as getting their food from the tiers onto the plates they had. But once they'd finished Skye was speaking again though she paused the take a sip of tea in the middle of that.

"So what will you do," she began. "While your wife is busy with her treatment?"

"Swimming," Castle said. "A lot of swimming."

"Aggression?" Skye asked.

Not surprised when Mary laughed Castle said, " _Repressing_."

"That would happen," Skye said. "And that night you're heading out somewhere?"

"I told her I'd brought two dresses," Beckett said when her husband looked confused at that. "And we're eating here."

"The restaurant," Castle added. "So it should be a nice night."  
"Sounds like it," Mary said. "Now I want to bring the subject to today. Have you ever gone with him to a signing during the Heat series?"

"No, when _Hamptons Heat_ came out we were settling in to the beach house and I was still fatigued in the early months of my pregnancy," Beckett said. "So I stayed home. This'll be the first time that I'm with him for a Heat related book."

"I wonder how they'll react to you being there," Castle told his wife. "Hopefully not flirt with me."

"I'm hoping the same," Beckett said before she smiled at him. "Are you sure you both want to go?"

"Yeah, we had no real plans for today beyond what we've done," Skye said first.

"And your pool is way nicer than our hotel's pool," Mary replied.

"Great so we're going to be racing right?" Castle asked.

"Not much else for adults to do other than that," Skye said with a slight shrug of her shoulders. She smiled and then said, "I think though you and I are taking the first race."

"Really?" Beckett asked in amusement.

"Still haven't gotten over you beating me," Skye said in mock annoyance. "We're the same height I should have been closer."

"We'll see how it goes today," Beckett said simply. She then told the two, "We forgot to mention yesterday that our girls are also counting down still for Japan."

"Is Alexis looking forward to it too?" Mary said.

"She is, I don't know if she's counting down to it herself," Castle said. He looked thoughtful for a moment before he nodded and said, "I think she's looking at the calendar but not counting down unless she hears from her sisters how long there's left."

"She's more focused at the moment on her finals for the term," Beckett said.

"How've you been doing with that?" Skye asked. She'd been talking to Castle but was surprised when Beckett answered instead.

"We all miss her," she said at first, smiling at her husband who was sipping the last of his tea. "But we know we'll see her again and she'll be back soon."

"Has she thought of what she might do?" Mary asked. "Once she's finished?"

"She wants to start out like you did," Castle said.

"Joining a group of psychiatrists?" Mary said. When Castle and Beckett nodded she said, "She asked me about that and I explained to her how that helped me go on to start my own practice. She doesn't know where she'll do that does she?"

"Not at the moment," Castle said. "She's torn between the city and the Hamptons. I told her to wait until she finished with school, leave the summer free and decide during that time."

"But she'd like to be close to family," Skye said.

"There are a few offices and groups in town so she could probably get in there," Beckett said. "But then again there's even more in the city."

"It's all up to her," Castle said. "Now you're finished," he said to Skye. "You're off until after Japan."

"A month after that," Skye said. "I had a case before this one back at home in Malibu and had no time off between the two."

"She's going to relax," Mary said, looking at her wife.

Finishing the last of the desserts on the tiers that she and her wife were sharing Skye said, "I'll attempt to."

"Do you ever run out of things to do?" Beckett asked her.

"No, I keep myself busy," Skye said. "And now I can get to your last book, well I mean finish it. I was about three chapters in before the holidays started. But I'm intent on finishing."

"Thanks for that," Castle said. After he drained the last of his second cup of tea he asked the others, "Are we all ready?"

"Yes, we can go swimming," Beckett said, giving her husband a look. After they'd paid she and Castle walked with the couple to the elevators and said, "Luckily he didn't ask you to come up and change in the room."

"When did you?" Castle asked in surprise as he thought they were just showing the two their room.

"Remember when I spoke in Russian with her?" Skye asked him. "It was then."

"Better you asked than me," Castle told his wife in mock seriousness.

Shaking her head Beckett walked with him down the hall on their floor before she stepped aside to let Skye and Mary go in first.

"Nice," the former said, looking around. "Where are your kids and Martha going to stay?"

"Down the hall, I got them a two bedroom suite," Castle said. "That was about all there was available for this weekend. I guess a lot of people are coming here for it."

"The girls will enjoy the space," Beckett said.

"You have a great view," Mary said, looking out the window behind the table. "Can we see the room?"

"Since I'm sure you'll be using the bathroom to change," Beckett said. "You can."

"Also nice," Skye said once they'd entered. "I like the couch in front of the window. " _Have you used it_?" she asked Beckett in Russian.

" _Why do you want to know_?" she replied as her answer in the same language.

" _To tease you, no details please_ ," Skye said with a slight smile. "We'll be right out."

Going back to the living room with his wife Castle asked, "What did she say?"

Beckett related their conversation and said to her husband's surprised expression, "I get the feeling they have a couch in their room too."

"And it's likely it's been well used," Castle said. When his wife merely smiled he said, "Well that's good, you wouldn't want the couch left out." He was startled then when his wife suddenly kissed his cheek and he smiled at her saying, "Any reason?"

"The fact you didn't try to fantasize about them together," Beckett said with a brief smile at him.

"It's a little disgusting to think of doing that," Castle told her honestly. "They're like family; I know you look at her like a sister; so… no."

"And since Patrick's like a brother you won't be fantasizing about him either?" Beckett said teasingly.

Leaning over to kiss her deeply for a moment it took Castle a bit to push himself away from her to speak again. But once he had he told her seriously, "You'll be the only one I'm fantasizing about thank you."

"Should we have changed downstairs?" Skye asked, opening the door to the living room then.

"Still?" Castle asked when he saw her top and board shorts.

"Still," Skye told him with a smile.

"I'm finished, we'll partake of the view while you two are changing," Mary said, in a sundress and sandals.

Inside their room with the door closed Castle said through it, "It's unlocked but we trust you."

"Would you bloody change already! We'll all be late to your signing," Skye called back.

Beckett shook her head at her husband as she got the last of her clothes off and told him, "They could have said the same to us."

"Oh I know," Castle said jokingly as he went to join her at the bed once he had his trunks. "They had two doors between them and us."

"Hurry up and change," Beckett said, watching him as he ogled her breasts.

"Sorry," Castle said quickly before he started to unbutton his shirt. After he had his shorts on along with his shirt and jeans he looked to her and said, "You're okay?"

"I am, you would have noticed if I wasn't," Beckett said, smiling at his concern for her. She went over to him, finished dressing herself, and shared a brief kiss with him before they parted and then went out to the two women who were looking outside. "How's the weather?" she asked.

"Sunny but still cold," Mary said first.

"No one's taken off their coats," Skye added. "So it's definitely cold."

"We should get going," Beckett said.

They left the room then after Castle and Beckett had their things they were bringing with them and they went down to the pool. When they found that it was empty again Skye and Mary quickly went into the water together.

"How is it no one's here… except for that jerk yesterday?" Castle asked his wife as he waited for her to take off her sundress.

"It's a great day today," Beckett replied, smiling at him. "People are outside."

"We'll be doing that a lot more tomorrow," Castle told her as she stepped up to him.

"I know, I can't wait," Beckett replied, leaning over and kissing him on the cheek. They went around the pool to the ladder before she went in the water first and she said to the two swimming around in front of her, "Are you swimming around first or should we start the races."

"How long do we have?" Skye asked. "Because we need to rinse off here as much as we can before we leave with you."  
"A few hours," Castle said, looking at his watch as he still had it on. "You're not going back to your hotel?"

"We have our clothes for the signing," Mary replied. "We just need to go back for the clothes for the party."

"We might as well start the races," Skye then said. "If you're ready?" she asked Beckett. She smiled when her friend ducked under the water and swam to the other side of the pool. "We're going that way?" she asked.

"Why not," Beckett said jokingly before she swam back to them. "What are you two going to do? We'll be taking up the whole pool."

Castle's answer to that was to climb out of the pool at the end and said to his wife, "We'll officiate."

"There's that much of a need for it?" Skye asked teasingly as she and Beckett followed their spouses to the end.

"Just in case," Castle said jokingly. He watched the two in front of him and Mary turn to face the rest of the pool and allowed Skye to call, "Go," before the two began to swim furiously. He wasn't surprised when they very quickly became even and he said to Mary, "Should we cheer for them?"

"I don't think we need to," the woman said with a smile. "They seem to be doing just fine."

When she'd touched the wall Beckett looked at Skye before she said laughingly, "Did we tie?"

"You did," Castle said from above them. "Can we come back now?" he then exclaimed in surprise when Beckett pulled on his leg and he let himself fall down into it before letting the water rejoin over his head. When he resurfaced he was surprised to see his wife was alone there and he glanced to the other side of the pool to find the women swimming together towards it. "Just one?" he asked her.

Smiling as she had expected that Beckett said, "Just one," before leaning in towards him and sharing a quick kiss with him. When they parted they ducked under the water at the same time before swimming over to their friends who were holding onto the side of the pool.

"I wonder," Skye said as she turned to the two once they were holding onto the edge as well. "How your daughters are going to like it here."

"We'll have some toys for them," Castle said. "Not much but we talked about it and we figure that the novelty of swimming inside will be enough for them."

"True, especially when there's snow outside still," Mary said.

"Plus just the fact that they'll be able to swim," Beckett added. "I know that Eliza misses being able to do that."

"Great, so I think it's time for another race," Skye said. "Last one at the end has to buy coffees around the bookstore."

After she'd spoken Skye took off though the others were quick to follow her and they were soon all swimming together to the other end, racing to see who would be first.

* * *

"Thank you for coming," Castle said, handing the graphic novel he'd just signed to the woman who'd stepped up to him. He watched her leave before looking up at the man that walked up next.

"You're Nikki Heat aren't you?" the man asked, looking over at Beckett.

"I'm Kate Beckett," she said simply, a little tired of having to repeat that for the men since the signing had started nearly two hours before.

"Can I get your name?" Castle asked to bring the man's attention to what he was there for.

"Oh, sorry, it's Saul," the man replied, glancing over at Beckett.

After thanking the man for coming Castle felt his wife's hand his shoulder and he leaned over to her so she could murmur in his ear.

Merely telling her husband that she was going to join Skye and Mary, who'd left to look around, Beckett was surprised when her husband grabbed her hand.

"It's almost over," Castle said to her reassuringly before the next person in line came over. Glancing over at them he realized it was two people, sisters, and he waited for the inevitable as he asked them for their names.

"I'm Barbara and this is Harriet," the taller of the two women said. "We are huge fans of your books, including the ones you're writing together. Are you going to have another one come out?"

"Later in the year," Beckett said. She smiled slightly when the two looked disappointed; able to tell they were more eager for the books; and said, "We're still writing it at the moment."

"Though we're close to finishing it," Castle said before he handed the books over to them. He thanked them for coming out when one of the bookstore employees came over and announced that the signing was over. Breathing out heavily as he capped the pen they'd given him he said as they stood, "Here comes McCann."

"Mr. Castle, thank you so much for adding this to your vacation," the man said, shaking his hand. "Ms. Beckett thank you for joining him, it was necessary." Before the two could reply to that he said in a rush, "I'll see you at the party."

"Hmm, I wonder if I intimidate him," Beckett said.

"I think he knows I'm annoyed with him," Castle said simply, looking to her. He squeezed his wife's hand that he'd taken and said, "We should go?"

"Yeah, it's five. We have to call the girls and get ready and we have three hours for that," Beckett told him simply.

"I'm glad we had the coffee before we got here," Castle said as they went over to where they'd seen the McDouglases waving to them on the way to the registers. They waited together for the two women to pay for their books before they joined them and he said, "We're going to head back to talk to our family."

"We should go too, rest and get ready," Skye said. She hugged Beckett tightly before she then turned to Castle and did the same to him before telling him, "We'll see you at eight."

"Thanks for letting us go to the pool," Mary said after she'd hugged the two.

"I agree with her," Skye added as they left the store. "That was a lot of fun."

"It was, we'd have to see if we can do that again before we head home," Beckett said while they watched Castle trying to hail a cab. When one pulled up she said goodbye to the two women with him before they left and she watched as her husband called for another. On the drive back to the hotel she leaned her head on Castle's shoulder while he held her to him, quiet as they took the moment to rest.

When they'd managed to get back to their room Castle texted his mother, not surprised when she immediately answered back. "The girls were asking for us," he told his wife as he handed her the phone.

"I wonder if anything happened," Beckett said after turning off his phone and waiting for the TV to come on. "Hey girls," she said with a smile as she saw their daughters on the screen. "How're you doing?"


	21. When You're Wide Awake (Part 2)

"Hi Mommy, Daddy," Julia and Eliza said at the same time. "We're good; we just wanted to see you before you went to the party."

"We have some time," Beckett told them. "So now we didn't have the case today, tell us how your days were first."

"I played with numbers today," Eliza said happily.

"Wait, sorry Mother," Castle said suddenly. "Hello."

"Hi Martha," Beckett said.

"Hello, you could have waited for Eliza to finish her story," Castle's mother replied with a smile. "Go ahead kiddo," she then said to her youngest granddaughter.

"But that was it," Eliza told them. "We played games with numbers."

"All day?" Castle asked in surprise.

"Yep," Eliza said with a nod. "I want Jules to say what we did at recess."  
"Then I think that means it's your turn sweetie," Beckett said to Julia.

Smiling at her little sister first the little girl turned back to their parents and then explained about what she had done during her lessons, leaving recess last. "We had races through the snow; we made trails and then ran. Lizzy won one race."

"Yeah, 'cause I started early," Eliza said giggling. "Now you! You say Mommy, Daddy! What did you do?"

"Well first we went out for breakfast," Castle told them. "And once we finished we walked down the street to a house, we might have told you about it before. I'm not sure."

"The White House?" Julia asked. When her parents nodded she said to Eliza, "The one where the president lives."

"Oh… did you see them?" the toddler asked eagerly.

"No, I think the family is out of town today," Castle replied.

"You guys will get to see it," Beckett told them. "We're definitely going to take you when you're here."

"Good," Eliza said firmly. "Then what?"

"A little down the street from that is the Octagon House that was begun in 1799," Castle said.

"Did they stop building it? Or it took a long time?" Julia asked.

"It's three stories tall," Beckett said.

"That means it took a long time," Julia told her sister who nodded. "Did you get to see all of it?" She was surprised when she saw that both her parents then hesitated and she said, "Is it really haunted?"

"Yes but not in the way that everyone thinks it is," Castle told them after Beckett had nodded to him slightly. "They think the daughters of the first owner fell down the stairs but that can't be proven."

"But there is a daughter that's attached to the house," Martha said suddenly. She smiled when her son, daughter in law and granddaughters all looked to her and she told them, "It was the next obvious thing."

"She's right," Castle said in amusement. "But they had a daughter named…"

"Elizabeth?" Julia and Eliza said at the same time. Gasping, the former said, "What happened Mommy?"

"I'm alright first," Beckett told the two as she knew she had to tell them then as both girls looked concerned. "And she tried to… I guess attach herself to me. I don't remember much of that though."

"She was okay Daddy?" Eliza asked. When he nodded firmly she then asked tearfully, "Is it 'cause of me?"

"It's because I'm apparently more attune to spirits," Beckett said. She quickly explained what they'd talked about with Skye and Mary, she and Castle together telling them about their blood ceremony since there was no real reason to hide it anymore.

"I remember you had little bitty cuts," Julia said then. "And I wondered why you did but I never asked. I'm glad I didn't."

"And then what?" Eliza asked.

"We got some tea to recover before we went to the Crime Museum," Castle took up then. "But that was quick since they're closing at the end of this month and they're starting to pack things up."

"It was nice what we saw of it though," Beckett said. "And we got you some souvenirs from the gift shop."

"I can't wait to see!" Eliza said happily.

"And then we came back here to the hotel with Skye and Mary and had lunch before swimming with them," Castle said. "Which was of course fun. And last before we came here was the signing."

"How was that?" Martha asked her son.

"Much better now I had Kate with me," Castle said, reaching over and taking her hand, squeezing it tightly. "But it went like it always did."

"So it was fun today?" Eliza asked.

"Very," Beckett replied firmly. "But we thought of you a lot."

"I did," Julia said, giggling as Eliza was nodding her head rapidly. "So you need to go now?" she asked them.

"No but you two might," Castle said, looking back at his mother.

"We do, it's time for dinner," Martha said. "I'm making some grilled cheese and tomato soup tonight. Something warm for us as it snowed a bit not too long ago. It's a chilly night."

"Sounds like it'll be good," Beckett said.

"Will you call tomorrow before you go to dinner and kiss?" Eliza asked then. She giggled softly with her sister when their parents immediately looked embarrassed and then she said, "It's gonna be Valentine's Day!"

"We'll call around five or six," Castle said. "I'll text you Mother."

"Have fun tonight," Martha said.

"Thank you, we will," Beckett told her. "Goodnight Martha."

"Good night Kate and Richard, see to it that you don't drink too much," Castle's mother told him.

Not surprised that she'd been able to tell the day after that he'd been drinking the night before Castle nodded and said, "I will, night Mother." He then looked at the girls again and said, "You've got everything for tomorrow?"

"Your valentines and the cookies?" Beckett asked.

"I'll speak for the cookies, I helped them with it today," Martha replied. "Not too long ago in fact."

"And our valentines are in our backpacks," Julia added. "So we're ready."

"Daddy," Eliza said then. "Now there's two days until we go there."

"I know, we were telling Skye and Mary that you two were counting down," Castle said.

"I'm sure their daughters are doing the same waiting for them to come back," Beckett said.

"And for Japan too," Julia pointed out.

Nodding with his wife in agreement to their oldest's statement Castle then turned his attention to the girls and said to them, "Goodnight you two. I love you so much Julia, Eliza and I will see you tomorrow."  
"Love you Daddy," the girls said together. They smiled when he pretended to jump and waved to him before they looked to their mother.

"I love you Julia, Eliza. Sweet dreams tonight okay?" Beckett told them.

"I love you Mommy," Julia said first. "Have fun tonight too."

"We will," Beckett assured her with a smile.

"I love you too Mommy," Eliza then said. "And you have sweet dreams too, with Daddy."

"I probably will," Beckett said, nodding her head with another smile as she struggled not to start laughing. "Night."

After the girls had said the same to them and Martha spoke it too, Castle turned off the TV and then looked at his wife saying, "They're doing well."

"I think it's because we're closer to them coming to join us," Beckett said with a smile at him. "Come on, we need to get ready."

Castle didn't argue that, standing with her before they walked into the bedroom and before they let go of each other's hands he kissed her cheek tenderly before their lips brushed against each other lightly.

* * *

Sitting on the chez lounge Beckett heard the door to the bathroom open but she didn't turn to look as she was studying the view. A smile appeared on her face when soon after her husband was kissing the junction of her neck and shoulder and she turned then saying, "Something I can help you with?"

"What's got your attention?" Castle asked, looking outside.

"I was thinking," Beckett replied. "Tonight when we come back… if I want to play a little can I ask you to do something?"

"Anything," Castle said, sitting next to her then.

"Don't joke and try not to act immature if you can," Beckett said.

Seeing that his wife was serious Castle told her, "I'll do my best." He hoped she was feeling unsure with that request and he decided whatever she wanted to do he'd watch to make sure she wasn't pushing herself, not sure he could forgive himself if he let her do that.

Beckett gave him a brief smile before she was leaning over, kissing him on the lips tenderly and standing up. "Wait," she said as he started to follow her. His phone had rung so she told him with a smile, "That should be the limo."

"It is," Castle said, seeing it was a text from McCann. "I swear I didn't ask for it though."

"Is he coming with us?" Beckett asked.

"He'll be in the front," Castle said as they went to get their coats. "When he told me about the limo I requested that."

"And what exactly do you think we'll be doing in the limo?" Beckett said teasingly as he helped her get her coat on over her blue lace dress.

"Nothing, I just want to have a discussion with you without him hanging around," Castle replied. He put on his coat and making sure a final time that the room key was on him he took her hand and they left. "I hope everyone'll have fun," he said once they were in the elevator.

"You mean our friends?" Beckett asked. When her husband nodded she smiled and said, "Probably, it'll be nice for everyone involved to get to do this after their investigations."

Castle nodded, having to indicate that he heard the concierge's call before they stepped outside to where McCann was waiting at the car. He and Beckett talked during their ride to where the party was being held and outside he told her, "The media will be here."

"Of course," Beckett said. "When haven't they been? It is a story and I guess the novelty of you having a book party here will make a good story."

Castle couldn't help smile at her words but by then they were in the lobby of the building and he helped her with her coat before they walked hand in hand through the media. He nodded to a few cameras as Beckett squeezed his hand tightly until they were inside the room. " _Good_?" he asked her.

" _Now that that's over with_ ," Beckett replied before she looked around the room to see if their friends were there yet.

"Patrick and Trevor are here," Castle said, seeing the two men.

"And the McDouglases," Beckett said with a smile as her friend saw her. She gave her husband's hand a quick squeeze before hurrying over to him and she said, "You look like you're doing well," as they hugged tightly.

"Of course, warmth and rest will do that to you," Darnley replied. When they let go of each other he had Beckett stand in front of him and said with a smile, "You look nice."

"You never saw me that often in a dress," Beckett said teasingly.

"Never were many chances," Darnley said with a slight smirk. "He likes it right?"

"Yes," Beckett said laughingly. She then turned to Skye and Mary who were coming up to them and she hugged them both before they began to talk together.

Eventually people started to approach Castle to sign their copies of the graphic novel they held and he did so while trying to still talk with the others. As the night wore on though he was eventually pulled away from his wife and he only hoped; talking with someone who worked in the DC office of their publishing company; that she was having fun.

"So this is what it's like for you now," Darnley was saying to Beckett as they were sitting at a table together.

"We live in what's technically a suburb," Beckett reminded him with a smile. "So we're not doing this all the time."

"Still you're one of the beautiful people now," Darnley replied.

Looking at him Beckett said with a smile, "I'll have to tell Julia you're a huge Beatles fan too."

"Paul too," Darnley said, nodding his head.

"Have you heard Skye and Mary play?" Beckett asked.

"A little," Darnley replied. "Hmm, that man is giving me a look," he said, glancing at his friend's husband.

"I think he thinks you're being untoward with me," Beckett replied with a slight smile as she watched Castle touch the man's arm to bring his attention to him.

"That's my wife's friend," Castle told the man. "He works with the Metro PD and his husband is an investigator with the NTSB." Relieved when he stopped staring at Darnley as if the man had his hand up his wife's dress he turned the subject to the idea for making all the rest of the Heat books into graphic novels as well.

"He was here when we got here," Skye said, joining the two at their table in the back. "Not sure why he thought you'd start molesting Kate."

"Because we're leaning against each other?" Darnley suggested.

"Yeah, what is the deal?" Nkosi said jokingly as he joined them.

"Friends can do that," Darnley said in mock protest as Beckett was laughing next to him. "And Mary?"

"An old friend," Skye said. "Speaking of friends…"

Looking over to the entrance as the investigator was doing, Beckett was a little startled to see Sumner and Smitten stepping inside then. Glancing at Darnley she saw that he appeared startled to see them as well and followed him as he stood up to walk over to them.

"I didn't expect you to be here," Darnley said honestly to his partner before he hugged her quickly.

"Neither did I," Sumner replied with a smile. "Castle invited us."

"So…" Nkosi said. "Should we congratulate you both?"

"We're only dating," Smitten said, smiling slightly at them.

"Still, it needs to be said since I think we both wondered if this would happen," Darnley said. He then said to the others; Mary and Castle having joined them; "We've gone to his bookstore."

"Did they manage to talk to Mott?" Castle asked then as they walked away from where they had been standing.

"We got a confession… a screaming confession," Sumner answered. "That he was the one to frame Nick to take his job."

"Will you go back?" Beckett asked him.

"I don't think so," Smitten said, shaking his head. "I'm happy where I am right now; the bookstore is doing well."

"Would you consider selling our books?" Castle asked jokingly.

Laughing slightly Smitten said, "We already do and they do well so thank you for the business they give us."

"Glad to help," Castle said. "Damn it, I need to go again," he said as he saw someone walking over to them. He turned to his wife and shared a quick kiss with her before he then left the group, hoping they'd have fun if they could.

It was then that the group split up but Beckett and Darnley remained together and went back to their table to sit down again with fresh drinks and some food. She told him then about what had happened at the Octagon House, wondering how he'd react since he was a skeptic but not entirely when it came to hauntings.

"I've been there," Darnley told her. "Never got a weird feeling but considering what you told me happened to you at Alcatraz and in Edinburgh that doesn't surprise me."

"I can't really confirm any of this," Beckett said with a shrug.

"You didn't feel the cold?" Darnley asked, looking at her. He smiled when he could get his answer from that telling her, "I see that's not going to convince you."

"No," Beckett replied easily. "We didn't realize the museum was closing we went to after."

"Neither did I, it's a shame," Darnley said. "Trev and I have gone there and it's got a very nice collection."

"What we saw of it we agree with you," Castle said as he joined them. "Finally got a break," he told his wife.

"How long do you usually stay here?" Darnley asked the two.

"An hour or two," Beckett said. She watched him look at his watch and said, "We've been here for a while?"

"An hour," Darnley replied. "Is this one going to last longer for some reason?"

"No," Castle said. "That's as long as they have the room booked for." He looked at his wife and seeing that she was glancing at him told her, "I asked."

"I'm not surprised," Beckett said in amusement. She waited for him to eat one of the appetizers he had on his plate and said, "Hasn't everyone talked to you by now?"

"I think so," Castle said, looking around the room. "But of course there are those who want me to sign," he told her rapidly as a woman was walking over to them.

"Hi, I'm a huge fan," the woman said as soon as she was close. "I read this in a day and I think it's really great."

"That's very nice to hear," Castle said, taking the pen that she handed to him.

Watching as he asked for the woman's name and then began to sign Beckett wasn't surprised when the woman hesitated and glanced to her before saying thank you and leaving. "That happens a lot," she told Darnley who she knew had been watching.

"I figured," he said wryly. "Any reason they ignore the bands?" nodding to their hands which were on the table.

"No clue," Castle said. "But when I don't give them much encouragement they leave me alone."

"Richard!" a voice said, startling them. "Hello, I'm so surprised to see you here."

"Virginia, how did you get in?" Castle asked in confusion, remaining where he was as he tried not to groan aloud.

"My husband works for the publishing company," Virginia said. "How are you?"

"I'm good, this is my wife Kate Beckett," Castle said quickly.

When that was all that he said the woman laughed slightly and said, "I'm Virginia Ward, Richard and I were… well we dated a bit years ago."

"Where's your husband?" Castle asked then.

"Over there," Virginia replied, waving vaguely.

"Mrs. Ward," Beckett said then. "You weren't invited to the party were you?"

"I, of course I was," Virginia said, laughing heavily.

"Ma'am, we need you to come with us please," a man said coming up to them.

Beckett watched as the woman started to resist the two guards and once she was gone sighed before saying, "Is there a person with the last name Ward at the company?"

"There is," Castle said. "She's not stalking me she just crashed the party since I've seen the guest list already."

" _How far_?" Beckett asked then as the rest of their friends came over to them then.

" _One night, not all that enjoyable as she wasn't really all that arousing_ ," Castle said. " _The way she acted with me_ ," he then explained when he saw that his wife looked a little confused.

"That would make sense," Beckett replied, squeezing his arm gently before she turned her attention to Skye who was asking them a question.

Sitting together the six began to talk before they left the table to get drinks and to watch some of the other couples dancing. Eventually they split up, the McDouglases going to dance before Darnley turned to his friend.

"Are you two dancing?" he asked.

"I was about to ask her now," Castle replied.

Smiling, and appreciating that the man hadn't become suddenly possessive, Darnley said, "I want to dance with you after Kate."

"Of course," Beckett said. "You're with me after Trevor." She shared a smile with the man before Castle led her over to the others. Wrapping her arms around his neck she couldn't help laugh softly as they were swaying and when he asked her what was so funny told him, "Some of the women here are glaring at me."

"Jealous," Castle said, not surprised when his wife laughed again. He pulled back and they pressed their foreheads together before they danced to the rest of the song.

Watching the two walk up to him Darnley said in amusement, "I'm surprised you're letting me do this."

"I'm not that possessive," Castle replied easily before he let go of his wife's hand.

"Come on," Beckett told her friend. She pulled him to the others before she took his hand and placed her other on his shoulder. "I never told him we have danced before."

"He might be able to guess," Darnley said. "Did you tell him about the one date we had to go on?"

"I did, so he might guess it was there that we danced," Beckett replied. She then said, "I'm glad this is the last time we'll have to worry about this for a while."

"I am surprised still that you are involved in this," Darnley said. "You never liked too much attention."

"I still don't," Beckett replied. "But it's easier to get through it with Rick."

"What?" Darnley asked as he saw she had hesitated.

Beckett then told him about what she and Castle had done on the beach in Ireland telling her friend when she'd finished, "I know that doesn't sound like me but at this point…"

"You're that close so why not?" Darnley finished for her. "But I like the way you did that. Out alone at night in the ocean, makes it more natural and not something that society might approve of if it's done a certain way. Which is very much you."

Since the song ended at that point Beckett laughed and wrapped her arms around him to hug him tightly before kissing his cheek. "I missed you Patrick," she told him as they walked to their husbands.

Standing with Darnley as they watched Beckett dance with Nkosi, Castle said to the man, "You've danced with her before?"

Smiling Darnley said, "It was that date she told you about. We had to dance to convince Jacobs and the woman he was with; it was before we realized he knew about me. Just a short dance, holding onto each other like we were before because I was having a tough time already with having my hand on her back." He then smiled and said, "She had to keep telling me to stop fidgeting, it was like we were seven and learning to dance."

Coming over to them with Nkosi, Beckett said, "Where are the McDouglases?"

"They ducked out for a minute," Castle said. "I'm sure they'll be back."

"I'll be back," Beckett said, reaching over and squeezing his arm before she left them. She went over to the restroom and saw the two women at the sinks, smiling when they turned to look at her.

"You missed us?" Skye said jokingly.

"I needed a minute to take a break and splash some water on my face," Beckett told them before she did so. "And it was noticeable you two were missing."

"Are they still dancing in there?" Mary asked while Beckett dried her hands.

"They are but things are almost over," she told them. "When will we see you guys again?"

"The zoo at least," Mary said, looking at her wife then.

"We're going to the Air and Space Museum," Beckett then said.

"Any others?" Skye asked. When her friend rolled her eyes she smiled and said, "If you don't mind us joining you on that one."

"I think the girls would appreciate you there," Beckett said honestly as they headed back to the party.

"Then I think we should go," Mary said to her wife.

"I concur," Skye said with a nod. "Let us know when that is."

"On Saturday," Beckett answered.

"Great," Skye said before she took Mary over to the bar for a final drink.

"Hey," Castle said when his wife reached him. "I got you some Irish coffee."

"Thank you," Beckett said, looking around the room.

"People have been leaving," Castle said, watching her.

"When can we?" Beckett asked.

"Very soon," he promised her. He took a sip of his coffee and then confessed, "I want to go."

Beckett nodded and they drank their coffees before Darnley and Nkosi joined them and they looked out at the room before they were joined by the McDouglases.

The two women left first, saying goodbye to the other four and promising to see them soon. A bit after that Darnley and Nkosi left with Castle and Beckett for the lobby, saying goodbye once they had their coats.

"That was nice," Darnley said to Becket after he turned to her once he'd said goodbye to Castle. "Thanks for thinking of us."

"We had to," Beckett said. "Hopefully Sumner and Smitten had a good night," she commented as she recalled the couple that had only stayed for an hour before saying a quiet goodbye to them.

"Likely," Darnley said. "And I hope you two do too."

"We'll see you on Friday," Beckett said as they embraced. "We're taking them to the Mall to take a quick look at it before we head to the Natural History museum."

"Great, they'll love it," Darnley said. "I know Maddy does. We'll see you then."

Saying goodbye to the two men as they went into a cab Castle took his wife's hand and they went over to the limo. Neither of them said much and he looked at Beckett closely until they were at the hotel, wondering at the determination that seemed to come over her eyes.

Beckett, looking to him, smiled and leaned over to kiss him before she waited for him to step out. Taking his hand as he turned back to her she got out and held onto his arm, her mind going over her plan already while they walked through the lobby.

* * *

"Kate," Castle called. "Look if you're having second thoughts on this idea of playing we don't really have to do that. We've got-"

"Get on the end of the bed Rick," Beckett interrupted him as she could tell he was standing at the door to the bathroom. When she could discern that he was there from the ceasing of his footsteps she opened the door and then stepped out to him saying, "I'm not changing my mind about doing it but about what I was going to do."

"Oh," Castle said, seeing she was wearing one of her shorter robes though it went just past her knees. "So… should we start?"

"I was thinking of modeling for you," Beckett said with a smile at his ogling of her though she was relatively covered still.

"Great… y-your clothes?" Castle asked, unable to help stammering a bit at the look in her eyes.

"No," Beckett said. She opened the top drawer of the dresser she was standing in front of and said, "What do you think?" showing her husband the bra she had hanging from her finger. When his eyes went wide and he just looked at her she put it back in and said, "I can't really model all of these so you have to help me make a choice. Or a few," she added as she held the panties that went with that out to him.

"Can I sit there?" Castle managed to gasp out somehow, pointing to the chez. When she nodded he tried not to race over to it and he sat, perched on the couch as he watched her starting to show him her undergarments.

"You're not really telling me what I should wear," Beckett said, smiling at him then after she showed him a set she had in red, one of the only ones she owned in that color.

"I'm having a hard time choosing," Castle told her honestly, holding the bra she'd given him in his hands. He shuddered and then handed it back to her saying, "These aren't uncomfortable?"

"You notice I've never worn a thong," Beckett replied, looking through what she had still to show him.

"I get the feeling Patrick is connected with that," Castle said.

"He asked me about it," Beckett said, stopping and looking over her shoulder at him. "Since of course he was aware of what women wear beneath their clothes. I told him I tried once and it was… uncomfortable plus I think covering more arouses you still."

"Yes," Castle breathed as he took the dark green panties she handed to him and running his hand over her the lace that comprised it.

Beckett said with a smile on her face, "Why?"

"Because," Castle said. He then realized that she had stopped to watch him again so he looked at her before shaking himself and saying, "More to discover. Even if we've been together for so long, I still want to see you Kate… like right now."

Smiling Beckett turned back to the drawer and after getting the panties from her husband she went through a few more pieces that she'd brought and then closed it. "I'm afraid we can't choose," she said as she turned to him.

"No?" Castle asked, startled when she then walked past him and over to the bed. When she didn't say anything he scrambled to get up and follow her before he sat on the edge. "So… what do we do now?" he asked her, watching her closely.

Beckett was smiling again and she leaned over, kissing him gently on the lips before she pulled away. "Maybe this might work," she told him, untying the belt of her robe and letting it fall apart.

"I…" Castle started to say before he seemed to be stuck on the sound. His wife was naked except for a pair of periwinkle blue lace panties. They were shorts in shape which she'd never worn before and he found himself literally drooling as his eyes roamed her entire body though she kept the robe on.

"Are you still with me?" Beckett couldn't help asked in amusement. At her husband's nod she then said, "I think you're wearing too much."

"I am," Castle said, being shaken again. He stood up and took off his shirt as fast as he could unbutton it before he got rid of the rest of his clothes. Once he was naked he turned to Beckett, seeing that she was climbing onto the bed and he stood there as he watched her lay back on the pillows. Schooling himself not to outright run to her, he climbed up and was going to lay on her when she reached out and placed her hand on his chest. "Not yet?" he asked, trying not to sound too impatient.

"Not yet," Beckett echoed before she sat up and then kissed him. The second their lips met she was holding onto him with her arms wrapped around his neck. She pressed as close as she could to him, groaning in pleasure as her bare breasts were brushing against his chest. After a while she pulled away and then said, "You can touch first."

Breathing roughly Castle looked at her and asked, "You're not?"

"No I am, I just want you to have some fun with this," Beckett replied.

With another heavy breath Castle said, "If this is what you mean by playing then I'm all for it."

"Maybe," Beckett said before she looked on while her husband covered her right breast and she couldn't help arch her back slightly as he gently squeezed it. She smiled when he glanced up her at that and said, "I thought you might enjoy the topless part."

"I do but we should probably get started," Castle said, moving so he could sit up on his knees and start removing her robe. Once it was tossed aside he watched her for a moment and then leaned down to kiss her.

Holding onto him tightly Beckett wrapped her leg around his waist, feeling him cradled against her sex though it was still covered. She delighted in the sensation before he pulled away from her and then moved to whisper into her ear. Thinking over his idea for a moment she nodded and said, "Now."

Shuddering in pleasure at that Castle moved to remove her panties before he told her, "Wear those again."

"Just for you," Beckett promised before he was reaching for her left leg. She watched him place it sticking straight up as it leaned against him and her right leg slid down from his waist to his legs, holding onto those tightly. Since she could she reached with her right hand and helped him into her. Crying out softly at the sensation of that she let go and clutched tightly to the bed as he slid within her the rest of the way until they were coupled completely. "Rick…" she breathed.

Turning his head to kiss her ankle Castle's other response to that was non verbal and it was to begin thrusting within her. He groaned in pleasure at the sensation of her around him, very damp with her arousal and tight as well. When she began to move as well he was struck by how much more intense it felt and he breathed to her, "How long did it take you?" trying to speak through the haze of pleasure that had begun to envelop him.

"Watching you with… with my things," Beckett breathed out. She closed her eyes tightly as he moved down a little harder than the time before and it was quick to set off a shock within her that went through her entire body. She had to fight a bit with that before she could look at her husband. Seeing the expression on his face she reached down in between them then, taking him in her thumb and index finger, watching his surprise as he realized what she was doing. She soon was gasping as she realized what she was touching and the rigid but smooth bit of his length that she felt was highly arousing, making her bite her lower lip hard.

Castle slowed down a bit then to allow his wife to feel him a little easier but it didn't last long as she was letting him go. He proceeded to thrust faster and groaned hard as she slid her leg off of his shoulder and the movement affected him when she moved around his erection at the same time. Being able to reach her far more easily he leaned down onto his arms so he could kiss her, doing so as deeply as possible as she responded to him eagerly. Their tongues tangling frantically together he was shaking at the taste of her in his mouth and he found he didn't want to stop. But they had to breathe much sooner so he moved away before he went straight to her breasts, his hunger for them almost overwhelming him.

Beckett was a little startled by how quickly her husband had gone to them but as she felt him suckling at her she could understand why. She held onto him so tightly that she soon saw her knuckles were white and she bit her lower lip at how he was so thorough with her. Making him pull away after he'd done much the same to her other breast she was surprised when he merely watched her but she didn't try to stop him from doing that either. After a few minutes of that; she assumed; he suddenly began to slow down until he stopped. Moaning his name she then was able to say, "Why?"

"Because I don't want us to stop this too soon," Castle replied though he was straining, struggling against himself to not lose control and start up again. He leaned down and kissed her tenderly before he slowly pulled away and nuzzled her lips with his own. "Love…" he breathed to her huskily.

"Move, please my love," Beckett replied. She nearly cried out in pleasure as he proceeded to move again and she dug her nails slightly into his shoulders when he turned his head slightly to kiss her. She had both her legs by then wrapped around him and she tried to spread her thighs as wide as they would go in an attempt to take him further in her. It seemed to work as she was nearly losing control of herself and felt overheated, very pleasurably so, before she called that out to her husband.

It was then that Castle slowed down again until he stopped and he watched her closely as she was breathing hard, her eyes closed. He then leaned down to her and kissed her, just barely brushing his lips to her own. When she opened her eyes he smiled and said, "I guess one day was too long."

"It seems like it," Beckett said with a smile. She then became serious and said, "But don't do this for much longer, I want to come."

"Are you sure?" Castle asked her.

Nodding Beckett cried out as he immediately started fast and she tried her best to catch up to him. Luckily it didn't take her long so once she was set she let herself take in what he was making her feel. She was slightly surprised when he didn't move their position and would have smiled if she wasn't dealing with the pleasure as it kept building within her. Biting at her lower lip she soon realized that she was writhing on the bed and she tried to control it though it became impossible. Reaching up to her husband she started to stroke at the back of his head, feeling the shudder that ran through his body at her touch and she murmured his name before managing to direct him to her lips. Kissing him hungrily she didn't let it last long before she was parting from him and telling him, "Explore Rick."

Shuddering again; since he couldn't help it; Castle did exactly as she'd implored him to, kissing all around her upper body that he could reach. He paid particular attention to her breasts, loving the way she cried out in reaction. It was a mixture of cursing and his name that didn't fail to push him further to the edge. He kept moving fast and hard, trying to do so even more though he'd long since reached his limit. It was very hard to convince himself that he was at that point, the joy in feeling her in so many ways that his body was aflame made it hard to believe. But as he pulled away from her breasts he could see what he'd done to her and he couldn't help it groaning to her, "Come for me Kate… I want to see what I do to you… want to show you how much I love you for… for everything you do to me."

The intensity in her husband's voice was too much for Beckett to take and she had been pushed so many times before that she couldn't stop herself from her body's natural instinct. Her back arched heavily as something within her snapped and she cried out, "Oh! Oh please Rick don't stop! I want to feel you come with me! Please!" Though she was a little distracted with the ecstasy raking over her body in waves, she could still feel when her husband joined her and she moaned heavily in pleasure at the sensation for as long as it lasted. When she slumped back down on the bed, almost feeling boneless, she held her husband tightly to her for his last couple thrusts.

Doing his best not to collapse on his wife Castle did his best to get his breath back before he looked at her. "You needed that too?" he asked her.

Smiling Beckett said, "Yes and before you say it I might need just a little more temptation to go again."

Sighing Castle pulled away from her though he really didn't want to and then sat up while he waited for her to do so. "What do you want to do now?" he asked.

"I think," Beckett said as she thought. She didn't finish that though while she looked around their room and glanced over at the chez. "What about there?" she asked. When her husband followed her gaze she then reached over to him and pulled him over to the couch. "Sit," she told him, helping him a little in doing so. As soon as he was set she was straddling him, grasping his still erect member in her hand. "Good?" she asked.

"Ah… yes!" Castle grunted as she gently squeezed her hand around him. "Kate…" But he couldn't finish that as she was suddenly rocking against him, holding his erection between her legs. Feeling the evidence of their bout as she moved along him he felt as if he could easily explode. But he quickly tried to stop himself as he reminded himself why she was doing that and he soon opened his eyes, looking at her intently before grabbing her by her hips.

A little taken aback Beckett couldn't help faltering on her husband before he suddenly moved her. Grasping to him as she knew what he was planning she let him lower her onto him, her breath stuttering as she felt again how hard he was on her. "Good… good thing there's the blanket," she said, indicating the one they'd left there the other night.

"I know," Castle said. He'd wanted to speak again when all of a sudden she was starting to bounce up and down on him and he had to grab onto her tightly, hissing as she gasped as that added to what was already between them. He couldn't believe that she was already ready for him but there was no doubt of it and he moved with her the best he could while she leaned over to kiss him. When her hair brushed against his shoulders doing that he shuddered again and reached up with one hand to cup the back of her head, their tongues tangling wildly within his mouth first. The pleasure from that was quick to join what was already in him where they were joined and he wondered if they'd be quicker that time; wondering what his wife was going through at that moment.

Feeling the way her body was moving, toiling to work around his arousal, Beckett tried to keep her strength up since she didn't want it to stop. But it was very hard to forget what she was feeling doing that and the friction between the two of them didn't let her either. Warmth was snaking through her entire form and she was nearly dizzy at the feel of it, wishing she could last far longer than she knew she would. But before she could think about that too long she got an idea and quickly put it into effect. She stopped bouncing on him and instead started to rock back and forth on him. "Rick… oh… oh fuck Rick!" she moaned as he suddenly grabbed hold of both her hips to help her in that and to be able to do so himself. They weren't going fast enough to make their skin slap together but it helped her gain a little more control of herself.

As he tried his best to help his wife without forgetting he was doing so Castle was a little startled when as time went on it was harder to remember. He was taken aback again when all of a sudden she stopped on him and he let himself fall back on the chez, breathing as hard as he could. "Too much?" he asked her.

Smiling Beckett said, "I think it was too much for you love." When he raised his head she didn't reply to his questioning look and then reached down, stroking his bare chest. She turned her attention to his gaze as his hands came up to begin stroking her breasts. The fact that he was gentle was incredibly arousing and she wasn't sure how she wasn't giving into temptation and moving again. They were doing that for some time until finally she said, "Fuck me Rick."

There was little Castle found he had to say to that and he said, "Like this," before he moved them around somehow so she was on her back and then pressed her left leg so her foot was on the floor. Her other leg was wrapped tightly around his waist while his right foot was on the floor as well and the other was bent at the knee, lunging against her slightly. As soon as they were ready he proceeded to do just as she had asked while he was leaning down to kiss her. Since she had pushed herself up onto her elbows he didn't have far to go and they were very passionately involved as they playfully dueled. He was struck again by the pleasure of moving within her and when they parted to breathe he told her lovingly, "Thank you."

"I want… wanted to feel you in me," Beckett sighed, letting her head tilt back. "But next time I'll stay where I was." She saw Castle's surprise and felt a rush of joy at the sight of it as she could imagine in that moment how she was going to show him what she meant. But she couldn't think of it for long as they were suddenly stopping and then starting for a time. Since she had her foot down on a solid surface she could respond to her husband very well but found herself grateful for them stopping as it allowed her to last longer. She watched him reach up soon with his hand, biting on her lower lip as he went straight for her nipples. Each touch of them, each slight twist around her, was enough to make her writhe which made them feel their bodies together since they were still at that moment.

Castle couldn't take it any longer and he started to thrust as hard as he could again, watching his wife intently as she tilted her head back again and he leaned down to her. Taking her lips he was a little frustrated at the fact that he couldn't reach her breasts with his mouth but then moved to her right ear, nibbling on it gently before he slid down to her neck. Feeling her moving hard against him and a little erratically he stopped again, something in him wanting things to be delayed just a bit longer. He leaned up and kissed her on the lips before he pressed his forehead to hers. But they weren't together for long as she begged him again to fuck her and he decided to comply, moving as hard as he could while their mouths crushed together so they could kiss yet again.

Holding on to her husband with one arm as she could do so Beckett pulled away from Castle, letting her tongue drag against his before she smiled briefly at him. She wasn't surprised when he suddenly leaned down and nipped at her neck but she still cried out in pleasure at the sensation before she started to taunt him. "Can you make me come love? You don't… you don't look like you want to," she said, trying not to make her tone too serious so she wouldn't make him mad.

Castle grit his teeth in response before he then kissed her as hard as he could to work out some slight frustration at her words. Once he had pulled away he told her, "You're close aren't you?" He was slightly surprised when she immediately nodded but then guessed that she'd said what she had to him to try and push him as much as she could. He breathed out that he loved her before he gripped the edge of the chez lounge and the back of it which helped him move even harder against her. "Come my love, come for me Kate, _now_ ," he begged her, his voice a little hoarse on the last word.

Everything came to a head at that point for Beckett and she didn't bother to try and hold back as her pleasure seemed to explode within her and she moved against her husband haphazardly. The ecstasy was overwhelming to her and she wasn't sure she was going to be able to stop. Crying out in pleasure when she then felt Castle beginning to orgasm shortly after she proceeded to call his name repeatedly until everything seemed to freeze and she was then climaxing for a second time before he joined her. Her sense of self was heavily jarred and it took her some time to get it back as she slowed down. Stopping she laid back on the couch, breathing heavily while she held her husband to her with her arm as he gave a few more thrusts.

Murmuring his wife's name Castle moved to kiss her, doing so as deeply as he could until he needed to breathe again. "That was… pretty amazing," he said.

Smiling Beckett said, "Were you going to say awesome?"

"I was," Castle said, about to shake his head no. "Should we go back to the bed?"

"I think so," Beckett replied. She sighed as he left her but then had to try and stop him from picking her up which she wasn't successful in doing. Her arms wrapped around his neck as he carried her the short distance she kissed his lips a few times, quickly, before she then asked, "Are you tired?"

"No," Castle said, setting her down before he joined her. He was surprised when she stopped him and said, "Thirsty?"

"A little," Beckett replied, watching him rush to grab a glass with ice and water. Taking it from him she said, "You didn't need to run around, then you are going to be tired."

"Yeah but I wanted to hurry for you," Castle said.

"You mean you wanted to show off," Beckett said, glancing down at him as she gave him the glass once she'd drunk enough.

"Sure… wait, what did you say before?" Castle asked.

Smirking at him Beckett laid back against the pillows as he watched; the glass halfway up to his lips; and told him, "You think I'm tired?"

"I have no idea but if you're not then I'm not," Castle said seriously. He drained the rest of the water from the glass before he set it aside and got onto the bed with her. "I love you Kate," he said seriously.

"I love you too Rick," Beckett said. She had kept her tone serious as well but she then smiled and said, "You're getting your requirement in?"

"Other couples don't try to say that at least once a day?" Castle asked her as he lay so the upper half of his body was above her.

Beckett smiled and then told him, "What about kissing me?"

"I think I passed that… went way past that," Castle said. "Why?"

"I can tell the girls you're sticking to that," Beckett replied. She wasn't surprised when he kissed her deeply and she reached up, stroking the back of his head until they'd parted. "What is it?" she asked as she could tell he wanted to say something.

"How long could we stay in?" Castle asked.

"Well, we might get up later… let's say ten or ten thirty," Beckett replied. "But that's not set in stone."

"Great," Castle said eagerly before he leaned over and kissed her deeply. When they parted he then said, "I have a gift for you; for tomorrow."

"So do I," Beckett replied. "But they're at home aren't they?" When her husband nodded she brushed her lips across his and told him, "So are mine, we'll exchange them when we're there okay?"

"Sure," Castle said, nodding. "But can I tell you what I got you?"

"Yes but tomorrow after dinner okay?" Beckett asked.

Nodding Castle then looked down her body and he said, "Is your camera ready?"

"Mmm-hmm," Beckett replied, watching him with a slight smile on her face. "You're really eager to go aren't you?"

"We don't usually go out like this," Castle said. "And to tell you the truth since I've learned that you've wanted to do this I've wanted to go out with you on a little… photography jaunt."

Beckett couldn't help laugh softly and said, "I'm looking forward to it too. Just promise me you won't get bored."

"Can I take some pictures too?" Castle asked. When his wife nodded he brushed his lips across hers and said, "Then I won't."

Beckett smiled and tugged on the back of his neck to bring him down to her and she kissed him deeply before he slowly pulled away from her. "Can I ask you something?" she then said.

"Sure," Castle said quickly. He was a little shocked when she didn't respond verbally, instead reached down to take his hand to press his fingertips against her clit. He moved them a little, watching his wife before he leaned down and kissed her deeply again.

With that Beckett let him continue until she reached a point where she was ready and she moved him around until he was laying on his back. Since they'd had to part when she moved him she wasn't surprised when he stared at her in shock. Smiling at him she said, "Good thing you're ready."

"I know," Castle said groaning towards the end of that as she lowered herself onto his returned erection. He sat up at that moment and wrapped his arms around her tightly, holding her to him before they kissed deeply and then began to move together eagerly.

That bout was the beginning to the rest of their night together trying to see how much they could do on that bed. They kissed and caressed one another as often as they could when their pleasure had been sated, inevitably working each other up again. As they continued on into the next morning they found they had forgotten their need to rest for their Valentine's Day and neither cared each time they came together once more.


	22. We Share It Together

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: I was glad to get the feedback I did for the last chapter so will go straight to my thank you for that! TORONTOSUN (Happy to see you like that Skye and Mary are like a part of the family, I figure at this point they definitely are. And it was great to see you thought Castle and Beckett had a good day, also night too, lol, I wanted to convey that) and vetgirlmx (Great to see that you thought the last chapter was very good. And not surprised you thought that Skye and Mary would sorta surprise join them, lol, but I was really happy that I surprised you with the stuff they did at the Octagon House and how that ended up. But interesting to see what you said about Beckett still having fun and yeah, I think she would in the end. Not surprised you liked that all their friends were there to see them at the party and to see how their lives are as you mentioned. And it was great that you liked the fact that Sumner went, lol, but yeah, it was basically so she could show off her date you got it there. And yep, they'll be celebrating Valentine's Day which I'm so happy to read that you want to see how it goes. And great you can't wait to see it, now you don't need to wait for that anymore!). Thanks so much for the reviews, I greatly appreciate the time spent to write and send them both and loved reading them as well!

A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _Your Love Is Forever_ by George Harrison, from his eponymous album.

We Share It Together

Walking into the room Castle paused as he neared the bed to watch his wife. She was mostly covered but a large part of her upper body was bared to him. He couldn't help himself, growing aroused as he just looked at her and finally that spurred him to move, stepping close enough so he could reach down and run his hand carefully over her arm.

As soon as she was touched Beckett opened her eyes and glanced up at her husband saying, "Hey."

"Hey, it's morning," Castle said. "Just in case you wanted to know."

Not surprised when he started to get up Beckett did so herself and grabbed onto his arm telling him with slight laughter in her voice, "Oh don't even try."

"So you want me to stay?" Castle asked as he sat back down next to her.

Sitting up with him Beckett wrapped her arms around him tightly and kissed him as deeply as she could though she didn't linger for too long. "Happy Valentine's Day," she murmured.

"Happy Valentine's Day love," Castle told her seriously before they were sharing a smile.

"Any reason why you're dressed?" Beckett asked as she realized that he was wearing his pajamas.

"Just because," Castle said. He wasn't surprised when his wife rolled her eyes and promised her, "You'll see it when we eat breakfast. Speaking of which, what would you like?"

"You can pick," Beckett said simply. "I trust you."

"Great," Castle said before he then kissed her gently. He reached over to the phone that was on her nightstand and he called room service. As he was ordering he suddenly became aware of the fact that his wife's hand was slipping down underneath his pants. He grabbed her arm when she grabbed his erection quicker than he could stop her but she lightly scratched at him so he let her go. Trying to keep his focus on the order he wasn't sure how he managed to get the words across as she was stroking him continuously. As soon as he had hung up he was being pulled onto the bed with Beckett before he was on his back. He watched her with wide eyes as she started to pleasure him, it not taking much time for her to do that since she'd gotten a head start with her hand.

Beckett tried not to smile as she pulled away from her husband and she watched him breathe deeply before she said, "I find myself still affected."

"From last night?" Castle asked, getting up then the best he could to get her on her back that time. When he nodded he groaned and then began to kiss over her body before he reached her sex and proceeded to return the favor that she'd done for him, doing so eagerly as he listened to her cry out to him in pleasure.

Sliding her fingers through her husband's hair Beckett did her best to hold onto her self control for as long as she could. But since she hadn't been unaffected pleasuring him it didn't take very long before she was breaking, crying out his name heavily until she calmed down and was panting deeply.

Pushing himself up so he could lie next to her Castle said, "We don't have much more time."

"I know," Beckett said before turning to him. She took his kiss and then said, "A preview?"

"You're the one who started," Castle said in mock indignation.

Beckett smiled and kissed him before she climbed out of the bed and said, "Fix yourself and I'll be right out."

"Sure," Castle said, standing up. He opened the curtains covering the window where the chez lounge was when he heard rapid footsteps coming up to him. "What is it?" he asked, surprised to see his wife.

Not saying a word to him Beckett reached into the drawer and pushed at her husband when he opened his mouth. "I gave you a preview last night," she told him teasingly before she went back into the bathroom to change.

Shuddering as he recalled her showing him the dark blue set Castle tried not to think about her wearing it then though it was difficult. As he opened the curtains out in the living room he finally glanced outside and was relieved to find that the weather forecast hadn't been kidding, it was a sunny day.

"How does it look?" Beckett asked, coming out to him then. She smiled when he looked at her and said, "It's waiting for me to change into my clothes," as his eyes went down to her breasts.

"Oh… wait, what did you ask?" Castle asked jokingly. When she rolled her eyes he stepped aside for her to look out and told her, "I just hope this holds the rest of the weekend."

Smiling again Beckett said, "Hard to believe they'll be here tomorrow."

"I know it seemed like a long week," Castle said. "Longer since I was gone for way too long," he added as he then walked over to the door since there'd been a knock on it. He let the employee on the other side in to set down their food and as soon as he was closing the door behind the man when he'd finished he was rushing into the bathroom there at the entry.

Watching him Beckett said, "I was afraid it'd be a lot more elaborate," teasingly as he was carrying a vase with delphinium and bells of Ireland in it.

"It wouldn't work," Castle said simply, putting it on the table though a bit out of the way of them both before he turned to her. "Your gift I can give you while we're here," he told her.

Beckett smiled and wrapping her arms around him said, "Then lunch will have to be my gift to you."

"My choice?" Castle said as he wrapped his arms around her. When she nodded in response he said, "Awesome," before leaning down and kissing her deeply.

"You're that eager for lunch?" Beckett asked once they'd parted, running her tongue over her slightly swollen lower lip as they were sitting.

"I wanted to convey that I appreciated the gesture," Castle said. "How's that?"

Rolling her eyes, though she couldn't fight the smile that broke out on her face, Beckett got her food from the plate they were going to share from and they began to eat. "You didn't tell me what time it was," she said to him once they'd been eating for a bit.

"I forgot," Castle said honestly. "But yeah, nearly nine thirty now. Is that too late?"

"Did you forget what I told you yesterday?" Beckett said with a smile.

"No, just checking," Castle replied. He then saw she was looking at their Washington DC travel book and he told her, "I brought it over as I wanted to ask how you'd like to walk."

Taking a sip of coffee Beckett set down the cup before taking the book to flip to the page about a walking tour of the neighborhood. She studied it and said, "We're taking the Metro…"

"Great, I wanted to try it," Castle said quickly. He wasn't surprised when she smiled and he then said, "We have to go to the Smithsonian station and we'll need to transfer once to another line to get to the Dupont Circle station."

"That's what it shows in the book," Beckett said absently. When her husband leaned over to look she told him, "I think we can start with the Indonesian Embassy."

"There's more to it than just what's here," Castle said.

"Oh I know," Beckett said with a smile. "I looked it up too but I tried not to look at too many pictures."

"Me too," Castle said. He was bringing his coffee mug to his lips and when he saw the look his wife was giving him told her, "It didn't work out."

Beckett couldn't help smiling at the look on his face at that and she leaned over to him after he'd finished with his coffee telling him, "I love you."

"I love you too Kate," Castle said seriously after she'd kissed him. He held her in place to kiss her again before they parted to finish the meal. After eating some fruit that came with the eggs he said, "I never clarified with the girls what kind of kisses count."

"I think any," Beckett said, giving a mock suffering sigh as he pretended to think that over. She leaned over to kiss him before eating the last strawberry and she got up with him to get dressed. Pulling on the cream turtleneck in the closet she said to her husband, "Did I tell you what Patrick and Trevor are doing today?"

"No, when did you ask them?" Castle asked, looking up at her once he had his shirt tucked into his jeans.

"Last night, we were sitting for most of the party together," Beckett said.

"Oh I know," Castle said in mock annoyance. "Should have just gotten a room." He laughed when she gave him a look and said, "What did you talk about besides that?"

"Well first off they're taking Maddy to the children's museum," Beckett replied. "Trevor's parents are going with them and tonight they're staying in."

"We all did something different," Castle said. "But it sounds like they and the McDouglases will have fun."

"Trevor said they refer to themselves as the Darnleys," Beckett said as they stepped out into the bedroom. When her husband looked at her she said, "Why do you think people refer to us as the Castles? It's easier than both names you realize."

"True but they could say your last name, or Trevor's. It's not that hard to say," Castle replied as they sat on the chez lounge to put on their shoes.

Not replying to that Beckett zipped up her boots once she'd stomped them on and as soon as she was ready she went over to where her camera was in the safe in the closet. Checking to make sure that it was charged she then went out to where her husband was at the entry pulling on his coat. She was about to grab hers when he stopped her. "I think I'm capable of putting it on," she said, knowing why he'd done that.

"I'm aware of that," Castle said seriously. "But still…" He helped her into it but only handed her her scarf and gloves before holding out her bag so she could put her camera into it. "Are we ready?" he asked.

"You're still excited?" Beckett asked with a smile as she watched him.

"One word Kate; architecture," Castle said. "Well… history and-"

"Okay, I get it," Beckett said laughing as she placed her hand on his chest to stop him. She then leaned into him and kissed him before they pulled apart and then leaned in quickly to brush their lips together. "We can go," she then told him.

Leaving the hotel they walked together to the Smithsonian station of the Metro, Beckett watching her husband looking up at the ceiling once they were on the platform waiting for the train.

"Kate, do you mind-" Castle started to say before he was being handed her camera. "Thank you love," he said with a wide smile, taking it.

Staying where she was as he took a few shots of the squares that receded up higher in places Beckett was surprised when he didn't take too many pictures and returned to her. She couldn't ask him why he'd done that as their train arrived and they stepped inside to sit. On the way she said, "You know I wonder at your reaction."

"I didn't go on this when I was here," Castle explained. "It seemed to be easier to walk or else take a cab. So I'm going to be fascinated as we go through."

"I got that already," Beckett said, smiling at his warning.

They remained silent then, watching the others as they stopped at one station before they reached where they were supposed to transfer.

"The same ceiling," Beckett told her husband as they found the platform they needed and saw the train was there.

"That's alright," Castle replied. "Maybe on the way back." He smiled when she shook her head; though she was smiling too; and hurried with her on the train until they were sitting again. They were quiet on the four minute ride, squeezing each other's hands which he'd taken after they'd started. Two stations later they stopped at Dupont Circle and they got off, walking quickly together.

"Same ceiling again," Beckett said as they paused to look around.

"Yep then we'll just head back to the hotel after," Castle told her seriously. "And get back in time for your appointment."

"Let's go," Beckett said in response to that, tugging on his hand before they went over to the escalator. They went to the circle and then made their way to Massachusetts Avenue where they stopped on it at a red brick mansion. "This?" she asked her husband as he had a list of the buildings printed out.

"The James G. Blaine Mansion," Castle replied. He looked up at it with her then and nodded saying, "Very nice." He then turned to her and said, "Keep going?" At her nod he took her hand again before they made it to the first embassy, another red brick building with the flag of Portugal and the European Union flag flying from it.

"You like the detail above the entry?" Beckett asked.

"Yeah, think-" Castle started to say before he looked at the screen of her camera and could see that she was taking a picture of it. When she then took a shot of the columns leading to the door he nodded and said, "Nice."

"I had a feeling what you wanted," Beckett replied with a smile.

"You know there's nothing blocking the door…" Castle started to say.

"We should keep going," Beckett said with a soft laugh, rolling her eyes. She led the way up the street before they came to the embassy of Indonesia where she started taking pictures of the former private mansion build in the Beaux Arts style.

"This was where the last owner of the Hope Diamond lived," Castle told his wife. "Evalyn McLean who was born Walsh and her father was Irish."

Glancing over at him at so much information Beckett wasn't surprised when she saw his phone in his hand and said, "So you really haven't been this way."

"As far from the main part of the city that it is, no just driving by the circle," Castle replied. He then smiled and said, "Should we keep going?" At her nod they walked together down the street, pausing every so often so one of them could take pictures of the buildings that they passed. It wasn't until they stopped in front of one that he told his wife, "This is the Larz Anderson House and this is where the Society of Cincinnati is headquartered."

"It's beautiful," Beckett replied, taking a few shots, focusing in the end on the arches on either side of the walkway up to the mansion. "What style is it?"

"Italianate," Castle replied.

"I would have tried for a lighter color," Beckett said. She smiled when her husband looked at her and said, "I lean towards whites in stones, remember?'

Castle couldn't help laugh slightly as they walked down the street, recalling easily how his wife had been adamant about getting a white marble that was nearly pure when they'd upgraded their bathroom a bit. "Okay, so we're passing the Embassy of Luxembourg," he told her, not surprised when she paused there to take a picture of the French style building with an almost teal edge to the very top of the roof. Walking down to a row of townhouses he told her, "That's the Defense Attaché of the Embassy of Turkey, after it's the Embassy of Togo and then Sudan."

When she had enough pictures Beckett walked with him past three more townhouses, stopping to get a shot of a sky blue one, and she saw the flag flying at the next building and guessed, "The Bahamas?"

"Yeah, next door is the Defense and Military Attaché of the Embassy of Greece and next door to them, the Embassy of Egypt," Castle said, following her.

Touching his arm when her husband looked up at her Beckett asked, "Are you looking at the buildings or just reading that?"

"No I'm looking, it's beautiful all of them are," Castle said. "They couldn't have picked better buildings for these… _and I'm glad they didn't tear them down for modern buildings_ ," he ended in a mock whisper.

"Rick, I'm sure no one's going to realize you're speaking Irish never mind understand what you're saying," Beckett said. She was surprised when her husband just looked past over her shoulder and she turned, seeing the Irish flag on the building on the corner. "So I could be wrong," she said in amusement before starting to take pictures.

Castle, looking at the building while she was busy, noticed a man glance over to them for a second time. He'd done it as he'd been speaking Irish and he grew slightly concerned when he ran into the house after speaking on a walkie-talkie. He turned to Beckett when he saw that she was looking at him in bemusement. "I think we're going to get chased off," he explained to her.

"I don't think they can-" Beckett started to say before that same man walked up to them.

"Pardon me," he said, his Irish accent thick. "But would you be Richard Castle and Kate Beckett?"

"We are," Castle and Beckett ended up saying at the same time after sharing a quick look.

"Our ambassador would like to meet you inside, if you don't mind," the man then said. When the two nodded he led them to the door where they went inside and he searched Beckett's bag before leading them in further to a room with chairs and tables. "Sir, it is them," he said to a man who was standing at one of the windows.

"Mr. Castle, Ms. Beckett I'm Ambassador Michael O'Reardon," the man said as they were left alone. He smiled at them warmly and then reached out, shaking their hands firmly. "Grand to meet you both," he told them. "My bodyguard noticed you outside and recognized you. I had seen in the paper today that you're in town Mr. Castle."

"You can call me Richard," Castle said, not surprised when his wife smiled briefly.

"You know our work?" Beckett then asked after she indicated the Ambassador could call her Kate.

"Oh of course, we're aware of your Irish connection," O'Reardon said. "And I must tell you the truth I'm part of the same group that you donate to."

"How well known is that?" Castle said in surprise, knowing that he was talking about the group they donated to to try and affect a return of Northern Ireland to the rest of the country.

"Not very, just within the group," O'Reardon replied. "So you don't need to have any concern about that."

" _Is there anything to hope for_?" Beckett asked then.

Looking at her in slight shock O'Reardon smiled and said, " _Nothing yet but we're still trying_." He then reverted back to English telling them, "I brought you in to ask if I might have a picture taken with you. To show back home?"

Castle glanced at his wife and when she merely looked at him he then said, "Of course, you might want to add we're planning on going there but don't ask when or where we're going."

"I wouldn't tell them that," O'Reardon replied with a slight nod.

"We're going this summer," Beckett said then, smiling at her husband as he looked to her then. "And we're renewing our vows."

"Fantastic, congratulations," O'Reardon replied. "Excuse me for a moment so I can grab someone with a camera."

When they were left alone Castle turned to his wife and said, "I swear I'm not psychic."

"Believe me when I say I don't think you are," Beckett said in amusement.

"This'll be an interesting story to tell the girls," Castle said.

"Of course, since we both explained what exactly an ambassador is," Beckett said quickly as she could hear someone approaching.

After bringing in someone with a camera the Ambassador took a photo with Castle and Beckett after the two had taken off their outer layers. He then shook their hands and said, "I'll let you continue, thank you for coming in to speak to me."

"It was great to meet you," Beckett said honestly.

"It was," Castle agreed with her. " _And we'll hope there's some luck in the future_." He wasn't surprised when the Ambassador nodded to that before he and Beckett were escorted back outside. "Okay, so should we keep going?" he asked her.

"I think we should," Beckett replied with a smile. "Let's take a quick look at the Romanian Embassy and then go over to the circle."

Leading the way to the building and then to the circle Castle took his wife over to the statue in the middle of it. "That's General Phillip Sheridan, of the Union Army," he told her as they looked at the man on top of his horse.

"They did a great job with this," Beckett commented, looking closely at the horse. "And this is a nice area. It's not a park is it?"

"I don't think so," Castle said. "Though I don't live here so I don't know for sure of course. Come on, there's more to see." He led the way back across the street where they passed the Latvian embassy and the Consular section for the embassy of South Korea, stopping at both for pictures while he read off the building names to his wife.

After they'd passed a large group of townhouses that were not embassies Beckett went back to taking pictures when they reached the one that belonged to Burkina Faso. Walking down the street yet again she took pictures of the street ahead of them until they came to more embassies. She kept doing that until they stopped at a large mansion and she said, "Japan?" as there was what looked to be a flower in gold on the balcony.

"It is," Castle replied with a nod. "Georgian Revival it says here in the book and it says to look at the garden behind the gate."

Going over with him but trying not to get too close Beckett saw it but couldn't really take pictures as they couldn't see much of it. She followed him to the next embassy when they continued down the street. They stopped at the Italian Embassy and she said softly, " _I really hope they didn't tear down any buildings for this_ ," as they looked at the obviously modern building.

Castle didn't comment on that, thinking it was likely they had, and then touched her arm to get her to walk with him again. Looking quickly at the embassies of Brazil and Bolivia, he smiled when he saw the second to last building on the southern side of the street and said, "You saw this one already."

"That was because Julia wasn't coming here," Beckett said as she took a few shots of the United Kingdom's Embassy. "Alright, what now?" she said as she turned to her husband.

"Now we head to the other side of the street," Castle replied, leading her over. They walked together, stopping every so often, until they came to the Embassy of South Africa. "Think Trevor ever comes here?" he asked his wife.

"I'm sure he did with his parents when he was a kid," Beckett said. "He has dual citizenship."  
"What about Patrick?" Castle asked.

"He's going to start seeing if he can get it," Beckett replied. "He's not sure though because of their marriage. He wants to go back there."

"Have they not been since they got Maddy?" Castle asked as they continued on once she'd gotten enough pictures.

"No," Beckett replied as they stopped every so often at the buildings, mostly the embassies. When they were at the Embassy of Greece they stopped again and she took a few shots before she asked him, "Have you been there?"

"Will you be mad if I say yes?" Castle asked instead of answering.

"No," Beckett told him seriously.

"Okay, then yes I have," Castle replied. "Just to Athens but it's nice."

"You want to take me there?" Beckett asked in amusement as they started to walk again.

"I'd like to," Castle said, looking at her hopefully.

Unable to help smile at the expression on his face Beckett said, "We'll see."

When they reached another home a bit down from that Castle stopped his wife and said, "This is where the Cosmos Club is housed."

"It's a nice place for a club," Beckett said. She turned to her husband and looking at the expression on his face said, "If it's a science club…?" When he nodded to that she then smiled and said, "I doubt they'd admit to any kind of haunting."

"You're no fun," Castle said jokingly before they started to walk again.

Rolling her eyes she walked with him down the street before Beckett said in front of the Indian Embassy, "What time is it?"

"Nearly twelve," Castle told her.

Looking at his watch as he held it out to her Beckett saw that he was right and she smiled before saying, "We're nearly finished here aren't we?"

"Okay, so I may not have thought we'd go through this quickly," Castle told her apologetically.

"It's alright," Beckett assured him. "What we've seen has been great."

"We've got more to go to," Castle replied. They continued down the street before he then said to his wife, "What would you like to do after we finish here?"

"When we have a chance we should look at the map," Beckett told him. "And look for restaurants near that station where we transferred."

"Why don't I search for something specific in the area?" Castle suggested. "Like… Greek or… Irish?"

"How about Spanish?" Beckett asked with a smile.

"What made you think of that?" Castle said, slightly surprised at the suggestion but the realizing that he liked the thought.

"I don't know," Beckett said honestly. "I just thought of it."

"Alright," Castle said when he saw they were approaching Dupont Circle. "Let me look now."

Beckett put away her camera before she then looked over at her husband as he searched. "Well?" she asked when he looked back up at her.

"There's one to the north east of the hotel," Castle said, showing her the map on his phone. "We can go to the L'Enfant station and walk from there."

"Great," Beckett said, studying the distance from the restaurant to the hotel. "And walk back too."

"Still, we'll have a lot of time," Castle said as they headed to the station.

"We'll look at the book while we're waiting," Beckett said, looking at a sign on the platform to see they had six more minutes. She took it from her husband and looking at the map for the area where their hotel was said, "What about this?"

"The Tidal Basin? Perfect, the cherry blossom trees aren't ready to bloom yet but we can definitely go take a look at them," Castle said, putting the book away. "Want to try and walk around the whole thing?"

"I think we need to," Beckett told him. When he looked at her questioningly she said, "Lunch?"

"You make a good point," Castle replied. "And I'll agree to that."

Beckett shook her head as she smiled and she then walked with him a little closer to the edge so they could see when the train would arrive. Once they were on it they rode the few stations to their transfer station before going past the Smithsonian station to walk back to where the restaurant was.

Once inside and seated Castle looked at the menu and said, "We're in luck."  
"I can see, _tapas_ ," Beckett replied with a smile. "What would you like?"

"The _croquetas_ and the _pinchos_ of course," Castle told her. "Any choices yourself?"

Studying the menu still it took Beckett a little longer to answer before she said, "The _solomillo a la castellana_ and _tortilla_. If you'd like, you didn't ask me if I liked your choices."

Since he knew already that his wife was teasing him Castle turned his head to kiss her temple before he called over the waiter to order. When they were alone again he watched as his wife got her camera out and he looked over her shoulder as she looked at her pictures. "The light worked with you," he commented as he could see that they'd come out very well.

"That's a surprise since these buildings were blocking the sun," Beckett replied. She then smiled and told her husband, "You didn't end up taking many pictures."

"I had to be the tour guide," Castle said honestly. "And I don't mind, you have a better hand than I do."

" _I wouldn't sell yourself so short_ ," Beckett said with a slight smirk on her face.

Looking at her with wide eyes, Castle took a moment to recover from that and was soon able to say, " _I wish we had that here_."

Knowing he meant the camera they used for their more intimate pictures Beckett looked at her glass of wine before telling him, " _I think there's enough we can do even without it_."

"Maybe," Castle said, smiling at her. He squeezed her hand that by then he was holding before he said, "I think we should avoid the hotel."

Laughing very briefly Beckett said, "I was thinking the same thing. But you know if you want to do that until my treatment then I suggest we walk around the entire basin."

"That's a long way," Castle told her. "Plus walking to it."

"I thought you could keep up with me?" Beckett asked softly but while she was looking at him pointedly.

"I can," Castle breathed. "Okay then… we'll do our best."

"How long is the path around it?" Beckett asked as she saw that their waiter was coming over to them with their food.

Looking that up quickly on his phone Castle said, "It looks like either three or four miles."

"Okay that might be too much," Beckett said with a smile. She was going to say more but their food was served to them so she waited until they were alone again to say to her husband, "We should probably take a cab from here."

"Great I don't think I could have kept up even with what I said," Castle replied. He smiled when his wife pushed him slightly and then said, "For now we should eat."

"Probably," Beckett said as they took the food on the different dishes to place on their individual plates. They began to eat before she said, "I'm concerned with you swimming since we're going to walk now."

"Maybe I'll read," Castle said thoughtfully. "Or, wait I can just go into the Jacuzzi and relax."

"Alright," Beckett said after she'd eaten her bite of _croquetas_. "Just don't fall asleep there."

" _I'll be ready for tonight_ ," Castle told her seriously.

" _How do you even know that's what I meant_? Pervert," Beckett asked with one eyebrow raised.

" _Because I can read your mind_ ," Castle said, pretending to be annoyed. He laughed out loud when she pushed at him again before he said, " _I'll be alright and careful_."

"That's all I ask love," Beckett told him simply. She then took the chance to squeeze his hand and they shared a quick smile with one another before they returned to their meal.

* * *

After he paid the cabbie quickly for the ride Castle watched his wife as she looked around the Tidal Basin, smiling when he saw her taking pictures quickly. "You've never been here?" he asked her.

"No," Beckett replied, smiling at him. "My parents were more focused on the museums and the Mall so we didn't make it out here. I kind of wish we had."

"Are you ready?" Castle then said after they'd been looking around for a while. At his wife's nod he reached out and took her hand before they walked to the path that would take them around the water before he said, "The Jefferson Memorial is back there."

"That's alright," Beckett said quickly. "I just want to walk. No monuments."

"So we're not going all the way around?" Castle asked. When she nodded he then said, "I'd like to hold you but I know you're going to want to take pictures."

"I can still take them," Beckett replied with a slight smile. After he had wrapped his arm around her she brought her camera up to her face to take a shot ahead of them, getting a little of the water and Washington Monument. At that point she realized how quiet it was and said, "So you were with that woman last night."

"You want to talk about that?" Castle asked, his tone of voice sounding strangled.

"No, I just wanted to see if you were with me or thinking about… something I would be afraid to hear about," Beckett replied.

"No just looking around," Castle assured her. He then smiled and said, "You know what?"

"What?" Beckett asked, turning to look at him from the trees that she was taking shots of.

"I think we should bring them here tomorrow," Castle replied.

Smiling as she wasn't all that surprised that his thoughts had then gone to their daughters Beckett said, "I think then we should go to the Jefferson Memorial."

"Good idea," Castle said with a nod. "She learned about him of course."  
"Of course," Beckett said. "I just hope that Eliza won't mind."

"What is it?" Castle asked as he looked at her as her voice sounded as if it was trailing off.

"Don't call them while I'm gone," Beckett said in a mock threatening tone of voice.

"I don't think they'd take the call if I tried that," Castle said, unable to help the laughter bubbling up in his throat.

"Probably not," Beckett said in amusement. She stopped and pulled him to a bench a little off the path before they sat together and looked out at the water.

"I think Eliza will love it but we're going to need to hold onto her so she doesn't try to go in the water," Castle told her.

"I was thinking the same," Beckett replied before she leaned against him.

Looking at her Castle asked, "Pictures?"

"When we're going to leave," Beckett said simply. They sat there, watching the view for some time until they stood up together and she took her husband's hand tightly when they continued on.

" _I thought about it_ ," Castle said after they'd been walking for a while. " _And I decided I owe you a very sincere thank you_."

" _For last night_?" Beckett asked with a smile as she looked at him. When he nodded she then told him, " _I'll thank you because I never felt uncomfortable_." She then became thoughtful and told him honestly, " _Though that wasn't really anything too much_."

" _No, it was great_ ," Castle said. He was tempted to stop her again but looking behind them he could see that there were people coming up after them so he instead turned back to her to talk to her. " _If that's as far as you go then I will be a happy, happy man_ ," he told her honestly.

" _I'll keep that in mind_ ," Beckett said with a smile. She then glanced at him and seeing his expression said, "What's the question?" When he looked at her in surprise she told him, "I can read it on your face."

" _Okay, next time will you wear all of that for me_?" Castle asked.

Beckett wasn't surprised at that request and she told her husband so before then saying to him, " _I'll consider it. If you behave_."

Shuddering Castle pulled his wife close to him before they continued down the path until they reached the bridge they'd been able to see when they'd started out walking together. He leaned against the railing with her, looking out at the rest of the area before he felt her taking his hand and he entwined their fingers tightly.

After a while Beckett noticed that her husband was shifting around a little next to her and turning to him she asked, "What is it?"

"I stole something," Castle said, standing up straight then. He wasn't surprised when she didn't believe him so he pulled out a piece of bread that they'd gotten at the restaurant.

"You're lucky there are ducks," Beckett said in amusement before she took the half that he ripped off for her. She threw off a piece, not surprised when one of the group of ducks swam rapidly over to the piece.

With the other ducks swimming to them Castle tore off a few pieces of bread at once and threw them down to the water. Going through the rest of the piece of bread he told his wife, "Mind if I take a picture?"

"Of me?" Beckett asked in amusement. When he nodded she smiled and then said, "They've seen me feeding ducks before."

"No, in this direction," Castle said, pointing to the monument that was visible behind them.

"A selfie, because I know that's what you're thinking of doing," Beckett said with a smirk. She waited for him to take his phone out of his pocket before they stood in the right spot to get the monument behind them. After he'd taken it and once he'd sent it she asked, "Should we keep walking?"

Looking at his watch Castle said, "Are we walking back to the hotel?"

"Yes," Beckett replied.

"Then we should go for about ten minutes," Castle told her before he reached out and took her hand. As they continued down the path he was surprised when his phone shook in his pocket and he quickly grabbed it.

"They liked it?" Beckett asked with a smile as she watched him read the text.

"Yeah," Castle said, handing it to her so she could see.

Reading the text Beckett smiled and said, "Your mom knew I'd be concerned about that."

"And me too," Castle added since his mother had added that Julia had gotten all her homework the teacher was going to assign the next day. "But I have to wonder how it's going to be when we call them."  
"Unless your mom's fed them straight sugar I don't think they'll be hyper," Beckett told him, smiling slightly after they started to walk again. "They'll be excited for the trip tomorrow but I don't think they're going to jump around."

"Eliza might," Castle said, smiling when she laughed slightly. He squeezed her hand before they walked, watching the scenery they were passing until he checked the time. Heading back at that point they walked to the hotel and went straight to the entrance to the spa. "Have fun," he told her after they'd shared a quick kiss.

"You too," Beckett replied with a smile before she turned and went to the desk to give her name.

Castle watched his wife go for as long as he could until finally he had to go since she was being led away from the desk to the back. Turning to head to the elevators he looked at his watch once more, wondering how his time until she was finished was going to go.

* * *

Opening the door to the room nearly two hours later Beckett stepped inside and saw that her husband was lying out on the couch facing away from her. "The ceiling's that interesting here too?" she asked him then to get his attention.

Jumping slightly Castle scrambled to get up and he turned to see that his wife was hanging up her coat in the closet. Going over to her he asked, "How was it?"

"Very relaxing and the smell is amazing," Beckett said, not surprised when he pressed his nose to her shoulder.

"You're right," Castle said, catching the scent of the cherry blossoms. "What did they give you?"

"Just some lotion," Beckett said. "Made with the cherry blossom rice powder they used during the massage." She handed him the bottle that she'd gotten telling him, "If you want to use it you're welcome to."

"I'll pass," Castle replied. "But think I might apply this to you next time you take a shower."

"I'll see," Beckett said. "For now I'd like to talk to the girls. I spent the whole treatment thinking about them."

Castle was about to walk over to the TV when his wife grabbed his arm and stopped him, making him turn to her in time to be kissed. He groaned in pleasure at that but very quickly recovered, wrapping his arms around her as tightly as he could before they began to carefully duel with each other. He couldn't help bring her close against him as hard as he could before slowly pulling away from her as he knew they both needed to breathe. Looking into her eyes he said, "Is it weak of me to say I missed you? Because I'll own up to it, I did."

"I did too," Beckett replied, brushing her lips against his. Sliding her hand up to the back of his head from his neck slightly she squeezed before telling him, "The woman who was giving me the treatment asked about my plans, I told her but left out my hopes for tonight."

"Don't worry, I'm thinking the exact same as you love," Castle said seriously. They kissed again but finally parted before he then said, "Okay, we should probably call them."

"We should," Beckett said, smiling at him before they brushed their lips together and then finally parted. She let her husband text his mother as she made sure his tablet was connected again and looked over to him as he walked over with a smile on his face.

* * *

"Is that all your homework Jules?" Eliza asked her sister hopefully as she stood next to her at the kitchen table.

"Yep that's it," Julia replied with a smile. "And it's still daytime, can we go out?" she asked Martha hopefully.

"After you put away your things," Castle's mother told her firmly. She watched as Eliza tried to help her sister before the backpack was loaded and ready for when Julia went back to school the next week. Martha ushered the two to the door leading to the back to wait for her as she put the backpack away and then returned to find that Julia had nearly finished getting Eliza bundled up. "I guess you're both impatient," she couldn't help saying as she took over for the little girl.

"She is 'cause we didn't get to play outside for too long," Julia explained as she was putting on her coat.

"I'm afraid it's unlikely we'll get much time today either," Martha said as she turned to help Julia but saw she didn't need any. She was surprised when there was no protest from her youngest granddaughter and she looked to Eliza. "Are you alright kiddo?" she asked the toddler.

"Yeah," Eliza said, turning to her from looking out the door. She went over to her and hugged her tightly saying, "I miss Mommy and Daddy."

"Well we-" Martha began to say. She was cut off then by the sound of the chime for the gate and she said, "Oh, he made it."

"Grandpapa!" Eliza nearly screamed as she ran ahead of the two to the front door.

"Eliza!" Martha called, hurrying after her.

"Hello?" the toddler was saying up to the intercom though she couldn't reach the button. She beamed at her grandmother when she pressed the button for her and then said it again.

"Can I come in Eliza?" Jim said on the other side.

"Yeah, Gram pressed the button," Eliza told him.

"Hold on," Martha said, grabbing her granddaughter's arm. "You can't run out there remember?"

"I know," Eliza sighed. She then thought of something and said, "Can we still play?"

"We'll see what your grandfather wants to do," Martha said as she opened the door to let them go out onto the porch once she was sure the girls were holding onto each other's hands.

After he had his suitcase out from the trunk Jim walked up to the porch and said, "Are you ready to go too?"

"Are you going with us?" Julia asked eagerly and in surprise hearing that.

"I am, I wasn't sure I could until yesterday so it'll be a surprise for your parents," Jim said. "Have you talked to them yet?"

"We will be soon," Martha answered as the girls looked to her then.

"Don't tell her okay?" Jim told them then.

"Are you going to be there when we talk to them?" Julia asked as they went into the house.

At first Jim couldn't reply as the dogs were jumping around him and he calmed them down quickly before he replied to the question. "I will because I think your mother expected me to come over today. Just don't tell her," he said.

Once he had off his coat Eliza was hugging him tightly before she felt her sister doing the same next to her. "I'm glad you came here Grandpapa," she said seriously as she looked up at him.

"So am I," Julia agreed.

"Me too," Jim said. "Okay I can take my suitcase up later," he told them. "For now I want to play with you two. What were you doing?"

"I just finished my homework," Julia said first.

"And we're gonna go outside," Eliza said, glancing at her grandmother.

"Then I should put my coat back on," Jim commented. He smiled as his granddaughters nodded their heads rapidly and he pulled it on before he and Martha took them to the backyard.

"Want to see the bows we have?" Eliza asked her grandfather once they were outside.

"He's seen them already," Julia said.

"Again," Eliza said firmly.

"Why don't you two wait until it warms up a little," Jim suggested. "When you're not so bundled up that it's harder to shoot?" He looked with the others at Eliza who finally gave a suffering sigh and nodded her head. "Good, want to walk with me down to the beach?"

"You want to go there?" Julia asked though she and her sister were taking his hands.

"Just to walk," Jim explained as the dogs followed them.

"I'll go back inside," Martha called after them. "If they text I'll call you Jim."

Looking back so he could nod to her Jim turned to the breaking waves until they were standing in front of them. "So how is your mom now?" he asked them as they were watching the dogs sniffing at a few shells.

"Happy now she's with Daddy," Eliza said first, hugging Macca around the neck as he came to her.

"She says she misses us though," Julia said as if to reassure him.

"I never doubted that she would," Jim replied with a smile. "But I'm glad she's with your father."

"Did you worry about her?" Julia asked as Eliza ran a little in front of them to start playing with Rita as Macca followed her.

"I did, I think everyone did so I didn't tell her," Jim replied with a smile.

Nodding Julia said, "They thought she might be very sad." She then looked thoughtful before saying, "She was but not a lot, she just missed Daddy."

"Well," Jim said. "Since I can go with you we have the chance to play in the mornings before your parents come to our room."

"We have to go inside?" Julia asked though she wasn't surprised as it was getting darker.

"We do," Jim replied. "Plus they're going to call soon I'm sure. Eliza."

At that the toddler stopped walking in front of the breaking waves with the dogs trailing her to hurry back to her grandfather and sister. "Mommy and Daddy?" she asked. She squealed when Jim picked her up suddenly and kissed his cheek before saying, "What do we do today Grandpapa?"

"First talk to your parents," Jim said. "And then we go out for dinner."

"Where?" Eliza asked quickly.

"I think we need to decide," Martha said as the three had by then entered the house. "I was going to order pizza for them; I had no clue you were coming of course."

"Of course," Jim said. He helped her get their granddaughters' outer layers off before saying, "I would suggest we let them pick but I know already what they'd choose."

"No you don't," Julia said quickly. " _The Narrows_ ," she then told them.

Smiling Jim said, "I thought it might be that or else _The Studebaker_."

"Oh, I believe that's them," Martha said as her phone she'd set on the bench began to shake. "It is, everyone in the family room."


	23. We Share It Together (Part 2)

Once they were inside Eliza tried not to bounce on the coffee table as she waited for Castle and Beckett to appear on the screen. "Hi Mommy, Daddy!" she cried out, so excited that she said it before they really fully appeared. When there was no response she looked at her sister and asked, "Did they hear?"

"I don't think so," Julia replied with a smile. She saw their parents were on and she nudged her sister with a smile.

Saying that again Eliza smiled when her parents said hello to her as well before she said, "Are you in love?"

Sharing a glance with his wife Castle said, "I think so."

"We are," Beckett said, nudging him then. "How was your Valentine's Day?"

"Great," Julia said first. "I had fun at the party and everyone liked my valentines."

"Good to hear," Castle said. "What about Mari's you got for her?"

"She liked it," Julia said, beaming. "She got me one too she cut it out of paper and made it look like a mosaic. It's really nice and she wrote _you're a great best friend_."

"What you wrote on yours," Jim said then as he didn't think his daughter had seen him.

"Dad, you're there," Beckett said, looking back and seeing him.

"I was just able to get tomorrow off," Jim said. "So I'll be escorting them to the airport."

"And we're gonna have our special dinner," Eliza added.

"Sounds good," Castle said. "Where are you heading to this time?"

" _The Narrows_ ," Julia answered.

"How were they today?" Castle then asked his mother.

"They were very good," Martha replied with a smile. "Julia did all her homework as I told you in my text and she's ready to go."

"You finished packing?" Beckett asked.

"Julia and I packed her suitcase last night," Martha said. "And Eliza and I packed hers after lunch."

"No nap?" Castle asked in a mock stern tone of voice.

"No," Eliza said with a giggle. "I'm not tired."

"Okay, so now I think we want to hear about your days at school," Castle said. "We went a little backwards today."

"That's okay," Julia said, laughing a little with her sister.

Since Julia looked to her Eliza then began to talk about what she'd done in her class. She included recess as she had stayed with her friends that time at the jungle gym and then talked about painting a picture with Martha after packing. "I put it on the fridge," she told her parents. "And you can see it when you come home."

"I look forward to that," Beckett said, Castle nodding in agreement with her. "Now what about you Julia?"

Talking about what she'd leaned in her class that day the little girl talked about her recess and lunch before she said, "And my homework was math, science and English. It wasn't a lot, just worksheets and then reading a little bit."

"Sounds like you had a nice day though," Castle said. "So I guess it's our turn to talk about what we did. Unless Jim, Mother?"

After the two had very briefly talked about what they'd done Beckett said, "Now I think we can say," with a smile at her husband. When he nodded at her she then talked about their visit through Embassy Row saying at one point, "You would have loved it Dad, the homes were all amazing. Especially the mansions."

"You took pictures though?" Jim asked her. At her nod he said, "I'll see them then."

"Did you go inside them?" Eliza asked.

"You know it's funny you ask that," Castle said. "We went to one embassy and while we were talking outside of it a bodyguard came over to us."

"We're you in trouble?" Eliza asked.

"I love how that's what she thinks first," Castle said in amusement to his wife.

"No we weren't in trouble," Beckett said, smiling at their youngest. "We were asked to go inside to meet the Ambassador."

"Of where?" Julia asked.

"Ireland," Castle said.

Smiling at the gasps from the girls Beckett said, "Your daddy had spoken Irish in front of the building and the bodyguard noticed and told the Ambassador about us."

"Was he nice?" Eliza asked.

"He was but he needs to be because he's a diplomat," Castle said. "Remember what your mom and grandfather told you. He spoke with us a little and we took a picture with him."

"And then what?" Eliza said.

"You had to go?" Julia guessed.

"That was it," Beckett said. "I'm sure he was working when we got there and had to go back."

"What was it like inside?" Julia asked.

"The entry was very nice, they kept it the way it looked like when the building was first made. The room we went into was a parlor and it had dark wood on the walls and Irish flags above the fireplace," Castle replied when his wife looked to him for that. "Very nice."

"It took us a while to walk over the entire area," Beckett then said. "About two hours. When we finished we headed over to a restaurant near our hotel."

"We should say that we took the Metro," Castle said then when his wife paused.

"What's that?" Eliza asked.

"Their subway," Martha answered.

"Oh fun," Eliza said. "Where did you eat?"

"At a Spanish restaurant, we had _tapas_ ," Beckett answered. "And after that we headed to the Tidal Basin where we took the picture we sent you."

"What is it?" Julia asked.

"It's like a lake that has some monuments by it," Castle began. "And there's a path around it where we walked. They're not in bloom right now but that's where the cherry trees are."

"Oooh," Eliza gasped eagerly. "Too bad you can't see."

"I know," Beckett said, smiling at that reaction. "And after we came back to the hotel where I went to the spa to have a treatment your daddy got for me." She told the girls a little about it and showed them the bottle that she'd gotten.

"What did you do Daddy?" Julia asked him as she and her sister looked to their father.

"I went to the hot tub and then came back to the room to read until your mom came back," Castle said.

"Was that right now?" Eliza said. When her father nodded she said, "What are you gonna do now?"

"We're going to head to our dinner," Castle replied. "It's just here in the hotel."

"But we're going to go out to Tidal Basin again," Beckett said. "For a short walk after." She smiled at her husband when he looked at her and said, "Very short because it's going to be cold. I just want to see the lights of the city from there."

"Don't take your camera," the girls said suddenly at the same time.

"You don't want me to take pictures?" Beckett asked in amusement. When the two shook their heads she said, "Alright, we'll take you one night to go see while you're here. If it's not too cold out."

Castle shared a smile with his wife at the thanks from their daughters they got for that and he said, "But before we see you tomorrow." He paused there, not surprised at the smiles on the girls' faces, and then continued with, "We should let you go out for your dinner."

"And yours," Julia said. "So we'll say goodnight now?" When their parents nodded she and Eliza said, "Love you Daddy."

"I love you too Julia, Eliza," Castle said, smiling. "Sweet dreams and we'll see you in the morning."

"And I love you too girls," Beckett then said. "We can't wait to see you."

"Love you Mommy," Eliza said, waving at her.

"I love you too Mommy," Julia said. "Have a great night."

"We will," Beckett assured them. "Goodnight Dad, Martha, enjoy your dinner with them."

"Oh we will," Castle's mother replied. "We'll see you tomorrow."

After saying goodnight to Jim and his mother Castle waved at the girls before Beckett hung up the connection and he said, "We've got some time."

"Did you take a shower?" Beckett asked.

"No," Castle said. "I wanted to get to my book." He wasn't surprised when his wife looked at him and said as he stood, "Now I know what I'll be doing." He turned back to her and then asked, "Want to join me?"

"I can't," Beckett said. "It'll make the treatment a little pointless except for the massages."

"You have the lotion… oh alright," Castle said, pretending to sound exasperated as he trailed off. He waited for her to stand and then shared a kiss with her before saying, "What're you going to do?"

"I'll find something," Beckett said with a smile. She brushed her lips against his before she then watched him walk to the bedroom. Taking his laptop she went over to the table where she sat and began to look at her e-mails as she waited until she would need to get ready herself. Hearing the shower starting something came to mind and she smiled slightly before looking back to the screen to focus her attention on that.

* * *

"Okay," Castle said, going to where Beckett was standing at the door to go. "Are you sure about going to the Tidal Basin?" He looked at her legs exposed by the dress she was wearing that night; from Christmas; and then said, "You're going to be cold."

"I'll be fine," Beckett told him firmly. "Come on let's go before we waste the night."

Castle allowed her to pull him out before he closed the door behind them and then followed her to the elevator. "I mentioned you look beautiful right?" he asked her jokingly when he found they were alone in the car.

"I think so…" Beckett replied before she looked at him and smirked. "More than once."

"I had to make sure," Castle replied before he then smiled at her. He walked with her into the lobby before he took her hand as they neared the restaurant. Having to let go to give his coat along with hers at the coat check he took it back once they were led to their table.

Letting Castle seat her at their table at the window Beckett couldn't help smiling as he sat to her right and said, "They're aware there are only two of us right?"

"I requested the table as I saw a picture of this room on their site," Castle explained. He was able to quickly order their wine before he told her, "But I don't think it's too bad."

Beckett said, "I don't think I was complaining."

"Okay then I'll take a look at what there is," Castle replied. He glanced at her over the top of the menu and saw that she was looking down at it before he reached over, squeezing her hand briefly before they went back to choosing.

After they'd ordered Beckett smiled at her husband as he picked up his glass of wine before she did the same. "So what is it this time?" she asked him. "The usual."

"Do you want to toast the city?" Castle asked with a smile.

"Sure," Beckett replied laughingly before she raised her glass to tap it against his. " _To us_ Rick," she said softly.

" _To us_ ," Castle said, nodding in agreement. After they'd taken a drink he looked out at the marina and said, "What is it?"

"I was just thinking about the embassies we saw today," Beckett replied.

"What about them?" Castle asked.

"That I wish my dad could come and see the buildings," Beckett confessed. She then smiled and said, "At least he got off from work to join them tonight."

"Yeah that was a nice surprise," Castle said. "I'm sure the girls were too."

"They did seem happy," Beckett said. She then said teasingly, "Happy and not hyper."

"I know my mother and she wouldn't give them sugar," Castle said. "At least not when we'd be able to see evidence that she did. For now though I say we talk about them."

"Okay," Beckett said, a smile on her face at the way her husband had worded that. "What about them."

"Well," Castle said. "We have to plan out our next book with Julia."

"True but that should wait until we go home," Beckett replied easily.

"Still, I think we should give that idea she had at the museum in Dublin a try," Castle told her.

Thinking that over Beckett nodded and then said, "Alright but we will make sure with her about that before we start anything right?"

"Right," Castle replied. He then became a little thoughtful and said, "I wish we could do something with Eliza too."

"She's still young," Beckett replied. "Though she's going to be four soon. We could try and find something to do with her."

"You don't think riding horses is it?" Castle asked.

Smiling since that was the first thing they'd shared with their oldest Beckett said, "We should probably try something that Julia doesn't do as well."

"Oh that's going to be really hard," Castle said before their waitress came over to serve them their appetizer. "They share so much already."

"That's true," Beckett said. "With that said do you think that eventually we'll have Eliza join us writing?"

"Most likely," Castle said with a laugh. He suddenly grew serious before saying, "Think about that though love."

"I am and I'm not going to let you have them put both last names," Beckett said. "My name is there so people will know who Julia is. And if Eliza joins us then her as well."

Studying her for a moment Castle reached over to her to take her hand and when she looked at him and slightly shook her head he brought her hand up to his lips. He kissed the palm gently before he let her go and they continued with their appetizer before they were finished and waiting for the main dishes. "Oh, they'll have a romantic cruise," he said, looking out at the marina and seeing a boat leaving.

"Cold but romantic," Beckett said with a smile. "Have you gone there?"

It took Castle a moment to realize what she was talking about before he said, "Not at night. Now if we see the police patrolling there and they stop us don't tell them you're an exotic dancer."

Rolling her eyes Beckett said, "I'm aware of the story."

"Oh you know about Representative Mills?" Castle asked.

"Of course," Beckett said. "And now that I've seen the area I'm still wondering what went through that woman's mind that she thought jumping into the water in October was a good idea."

"Me too," Castle said. He wanted to speak again when their food was served and he said, "Nice," once they were alone again.

"The fact these portions aren't tiny or the artwork?" Beckett asked knowingly.

"I think both," Castle replied before he smiled at her and they then started to eat. After they'd taken a few bites he asked her what she remembered of the Museum of Natural History when she'd last been in the city and listened to her attentively until she stopped.

"What about you?" Beckett asked. "I know you came with Alexis a bit after we met. What did you do?"

"I escorted her around. So the White House, Capitol and the National Archives," Castle answered. "Though that last one was more for her class."

"So it was a fun trip," Beckett said.

"Not exactly," Castle said before he took a quick sip of his drink. "I was more concerned with the loft since my mother was throwing a party."

"The loft is still there," Beckett told him teasingly.

"It is but still," Castle said.

"I know," Beckett replied, smiling then at the expression on his face. "You still ask her about it when you talk to her."

"It's our city home," Castle said simply and in defense of himself.

"True," Beckett said. She was surprised when he then held his fork out to her and she opened her mouth to taste the fillet mignon on it. Instead of telling him what she thought of it after she'd finished she motioned to him and once he was leaning over to her she kissed him gently. "Thank you," she told him.

Castle was going to reply to that when his wife then gave him some of her salmon and he ate it before repeating what she had done. "Okay, so… dinner's a success I think," he said once they'd parted.

"It is," Beckett said though she wanted to point out to him that it wasn't over yet. But she then pressed him to tell her about the National Archives as she'd never been there herself. Once they'd finished eating she told him a little about her time at the Air and Space Museum and continued to tell him about what she'd seen with her parents over dessert. "I thought my mom would be bored," she told him. "But she seemed really interested."

"Were you bored?" Castle asked her.

"At first but Mom and I went to look at an early plane and she told me 'Katie your dad doesn't often get to see planes like this so let's make sure that he has fun okay?'" Beckett told him with a nostalgic smile. "She was serious but I knew she wanted me to try so I nodded and I walked with him. He must have realized that I wasn't sure about the place so he told me we'd see things that have been in outer space."

"And you got interested?" Castle asked with a smile at her.

"It did," Beckett said. "I'll be interested in sharing that museum with the girls," she told him honestly.

"Are you sure your dad couldn't come?" Castle asked. "You had a ticket that he could use."

"He tried," Beckett said, not surprised he was trying to push the subject as if he could get her father to come down with their girls and Martha. "But I'm sure we'll come back." Something came to her but she held off on speaking as Castle was paying for their meal and they left the restaurant. "If we do that cross country trip," she said as they were leaving the restaurant with their coats. "Would you want to stop here again?"

"Sure," Castle said. "We can't stay here too long then either but we can see other museums."

"Great," Beckett said before she realized that Castle had stopped as they stepped into the lobby. "Did you change your mind?" she asked with a slight smirk.

"Are you sure?" Castle asked her, wanting to make absolutely certain.

Beckett didn't reply to that verbally, instead just tugged on his arm until he followed her to the door where they put on their coats and outer layers. Stepping outside she tried not to show how much the blast of cold affected her as they headed towards the Tidal Basin. She began to wonder if it was a good idea to go when they reached it and she breathed out in slight wonder at the lights she could see of the city to the north east. "It's beautiful," she said.

Smiling at her reaction Castle couldn't help kiss her cheek before he said, "It is, want to walk?" At her nod he then led her over to the path where they started to walk along the same route they'd taken the day before. He was a little surprised to see other people there but was also relieved they weren't alone. He held her close as they walked then in silence until they reached the point where they could look back on the Jefferson Memorial together, which they did.

"Rick?" Beckett asked him. When he turned his head with a questioning look on his face she said, "I want to go back."

Castle quickly replied, "So do I, come on." They walked back the way they'd come since they were already facing in that direction and they reached the main street they'd need to reach the hotel soon after. He was startled to see a squad car suddenly pull up and he turned to his wife saying, "I swear I'm not psychic."

"I'm sure they patrol this area since tourists are here at night," Beckett said. "Or because of that Representative." She wasn't surprised when he had to hold back his laughter and she led him over to the car since the officer on the passenger side had gotten out. "Officer?" she asked.

"We saw you walking and wanted to shake your hands," the man said.

"You heard about us consulting?" Castle asked as the officer shook first his wife's hand and then his.

"We did," the officer replied. "And there was that press conference where you were thanked." When he saw the perplexed expressions on the faces of the two in front of him he said, "Detective Sumner and Commissioner Le Blanc held a conference to talk about the conclusion of the case."

"And Sumner thanked us?" Castle said.

"They both did," the officer said. When his partner called to him he said quickly, "Nice to meet you, we gotta get back."

When the man left Beckett said, "Are you surprised it was just him that got out of the car?"

"No, I guess his partner wasn't so enthused about meeting us," Castle said. "Let's go back."

"When we're in our room try and find that press conference," Beckett told him.

"Already thought of that," Castle said as they continued back to the hotel, their pace more rapid as they didn't want another interruption.

* * *

"At least they mentioned Patrick," Beckett said idly as her husband came back to her. She smiled as she raised her legs for him to sit back on the chez lounge next to her though she was stretched out on it. When they'd returned to their room Castle had poured out wine for them from the bottle they still had and after dancing together in the bedroom she'd pulled him to the couch. They'd been distracted from watching the clip of the conference that he'd found as he'd kissed her deeply, taking her hair out of the bun it was in after that before they had drunk some wine. But they'd finally watched it and they were surprised to find that the officer was right and they had been thanked for their contribution to the case.

"I know," Castle said, starting to stroke her legs that were on his lap. "I'm surprised he didn't mention it to us."

"I get the feeling he didn't see it himself," Beckett said with a smile. "He was probably resting at Trevor's insistence."

Pretending to think about that Castle nodded his head and said, "I think you're right."

Laughing with him Beckett then took another sip of her wine before she studied him closely until he looked at her.

"What?" Castle asked, a little surprised at the slight smirk that was on her lips.

"What did you do while you were up here?" Beckett asked. When her husband opened his mouth to speak she quickly kept him from doing so saying, "Besides read, I know you didn't do that for very long." She smiled when he took a sip of his wine and then set hers down on the floor before she got on her knees and took his glass out of his hand. "You pleasured yourself didn't you?" she said.

"Yes," Castle said slowly. He looked at his wife again and then said, "Do you want me to explain why?"

"I think I know," Beckett replied, about to set the glass down. But seeing there wasn't much of the red liquid left she held onto it before she spoke again. "You thought of me and it got out of control," she told him.

"Very out of control," Castle replied, shuddering in pleasure. "It wasn't very satisfying though, you should know." He was startled when she then held the glass up to his lips and he drank, wondering if they were going to start. He hoped so as he was to point where his arousal was heavily uncomfortable and he was hoping she might want him the same. "So… are you mad?" he asked, studying her face.

"No I'm not all that surprised," Beckett said with a slight smirk for him. "Since that would happen when I'm not around you. But now…" She reached past him and then started to pull the curtain over the window behind him before he helped her. As soon as it was covered she took the rest of the wine in his glass and then leaned down, kissing him deeply before she tried to wrap her arms around him.

"Hold on," Castle said as she accidentally hit his ear. He took the glass and then had her stand before she joined him. His intention had been to walk over to the bed but he was stopped in his tracks when Beckett cupped his erection through his trousers and he gasped out her name before saying, "Why?"

"Here," Beckett told him simply before she dragged him over to the end of the bed. Once they were standing there she proceeded to unbutton his shirt before she needed to pull it out of his trousers. That done she let Castle take it off before she was opening his trousers and after his boxers before saying, "I had a feeling," as they both looked at his erection.

"The way I was walking?" Castle asked.

"It was only a few steps but it was enough of a tell," Beckett said in amusement. She leaned up then and cupped her husband's face in her hands before they kissed one another deeply. She hadn't planned on it but when her husband wrapped his arms around her she slid her own around his neck before she felt his length against her stomach and she pulled away as he looked down at her dress.

"It's alright," Castle said. "I didn't get it but maybe we should get this off you before I get something on your dress I don't want to."

"Hold on," Beckett told him, stopping his hands by grabbing his wrists. "I'm not finished with you yet," she said in response to his questioning expression. All she had to do was push his trousers and boxers from his waist before he took over and while she watched him removing them she shook her hair back over her shoulders in slight impatience.

"I was thinking," Castle told his wife as she turned around then. "That we could do something first."

"What did you have in mind?" Beckett asked, holding her hair in her hand to have it out of the way as he unzipped her.

Castle didn't answer her question at first as he was helping her dress off her shoulders. When he had it in his hands he breathed out heavily as he saw that she was completely naked underneath. "So…" he began.

Beckett went to the bed and lay out on it saying, "While you were busy with the wine."

"Oh… really?" Castle asked as he followed her after setting her dress on the chez.

"You thought I'd want to go outside with everything exposed underneath?" Beckett asked in amusement.

"No but I forgot you had a chance," Castle replied, moving to lie on top of her. He kissed her before she could say anything then, feeling her wrapping her arms tightly around him before they started to duel with their tongues within her mouth.

The second that she could speak Beckett did so saying, "You never told me what you wanted to do before we make love."

Smiling briefly Castle then said, "Just play around with each other."

"Play around?" Beckett asked. "Like I did with you?"

"No," Castle said, not surprised she was jumping on his use of that word.

"Oral or manual?" Beckett asked with a smile. "Or both?" She wasn't taken aback when her husband began to kiss around her breasts and she had her answer in that when at the same time he ran his hand over her side gently. "Good choice," she gasped softly as he flicked his tongue out to her right nipple, setting off a heavy shock that rushed through her body.

Castle spent some time running his lips back and forth over her breasts, reaching up with his hand to use it as well. When he stopped he then moved over to her neck, nipping here and there a few times before he stopped and then said, "By the way, I want us to work on each other at the same time."

Beckett couldn't help smiling and said, "Are you sure? Because you seem to be focusing on me." She wasn't surprised when in response to that he sat up and she was quick to follow him before she ran her hands over his chest. She smiled again as she started to concentrate on his nipples and he quickly reacted, hissing heavily through his teeth. "Do you want me to…?" she then asked him.

"If you want to," Castle said though his mind was screaming at him to tell her yes. He watched her lean down then to his chest and when he felt her mouth surrounding his left nipple he hissed again as he reached up to cup the back of her head while she sucked at him. He wasn't sure how long she was doing that to him, going to both of them so they were both being stimulated but he finally had to pull her away. He crushed his lips to hers, kissing her as hard as he could until they had to breathe and they were parting. "Want to start?" he asked.

"Can we do something else?" Beckett asked a little hesitantly.

"Sure," Castle said. "What do you want to do?"

"Sit here," Beckett said, motioning him to go where she'd been laying and sitting. As he quickly moved to do so she couldn't help reach out to run her hand over his stomach, stopping just above his erection though it took a monumental effort to do so. "Okay, so cross your legs," she told him once she'd shaken herself. "And just… touch yourself. I'm sure it'll be better than when you were doing that earlier," she said when he looked at her in surprise.

"I think so," Castle said. He looked on as his wife then crossed her legs after she'd come as close as she could to him and he said, "Who's starting?"

"At the same time," Beckett said in amusement. She reached down to her sex as her husband was reaching for himself and they began to touch themselves, both of them gasping in response to the first touch. She watched the way her husband's hand was moving around his length and then looked up into his face, watching his reaction in the expression there. "You can go faster," she said, pausing in the middle of that slightly as she wasn't being unaffected either.

"So can you," Castle said, his gaze going then to her fingers which were moving over her clit repeatedly. "Wait… are we going to get off like this?" he asked.

"We'll worry about that when we get to it," Beckett told him with a slight smile. It was soon off her face as she was taken over by the pleasure running through her. She closed her eyes before she was suddenly startled by her husband's hand covering the one that was over her breast. She moved it out of his way quickly and then watched him caressing both mounds as they continued to pleasure themselves. After a time he moved his hand and watching him she could tell that he was close which made her say, "Stop."

Immediately doing so Castle looked at his wife and said, "What now?"

Surprised that he was going to leave that to her to decide Beckett didn't question it and she moved to straddle him before he stopped her. "No?" she asked. She cried out her shock when he was suddenly laying her down and she grabbed him before he could move down her body. "Like we were before," she said to him with a slight smile on her face.

"Anything you want love," Castle said, knowing what she meant by that. He wrapped his arm around her and brought the other one up to her sex where he at first gently cupped the mound it made. "You're amazing you know," he told her seriously.

"How?" Beckett asked in amusement at that though her tone was a little shaky at the warmth of his touch.

"Everything about you is," Castle told her simply. He wasn't surprised when her cheeks flushed a little and then kissed her, just as he was using his fingers to rub against her clit. He amazed at how swollen it was by then but that didn't make him move any slower, watching the way she arched her back after he had pulled away from her. He didn't keep his fingers in one place then, running them up and down to her folds before going back to the nub at the apex before he saw that she was getting close to orgasming. He kept his eyes on her then as he pushed her the rest of the way over the edge, loving how she called his name while she writhed against him with utter abandon.

When she felt the waves of pleasure stop racking every inch of her body Beckett finally felt she was able to open her eyes and she looked at him with a smile before saying, "I take it you enjoyed it."

"Not as much as you're wondering," Castle said. He leaned down and gently kissed her before saying, "But we can start now."

"No we can't," Beckett said simply before she leaned up to kiss him. While they were rolling their tongues around she made him lie on his back before she moved back and lay on her side. Taking hold of his erection she watched him as she began to move her hand up and down, starting out slowly as she didn't want him to climax too soon. As she was doing that she began to kiss a path along his jaw, listening to how he groaned at each touch of her lips.

Holding onto his wife with both of his hands Castle tried not to grab her too tightly before she was stopping. Looking at her he said, "You're going to kill me."

"Again Rick there wouldn't really be much of a point in doing that," Beckett said simply, slightly rolling her eyes. She brushed her lips over his again and then murmured against him, "Do you want me to keep going?"

"Yes," Castle said simply and before she had even finished speaking. He loved the way she laughed at him for that before he then had to recover as she was grasping at him a little tightly. "Kate!" he gasped out. He was surprised when she kissed at his cheek before she curved down to his lips. He was trying to handle her lips and her hand at the same time though he found it very difficult. Each touch was another jolt, another surge in the temperature of his body until he finally allowed himself to break. Trying not to move too much at first, Beckett whispering to him to not hold back made him forget that and he held her against him tightly with one arm until finally he was slowing down and stopping. He felt her leaving him then and he groaned before he said to her, "Want to get some sleep?"

"Do you feel you need to?" Beckett asked him with a smile as she walked out to him.

"Not really," Castle said, sitting up to reach out for her. "They land at ten," he said. "So we don't need to be there until about a quarter till."

"We can get up at eight," Beckett replied as she grabbed her phone to set the alarm. "But you know it's still Valentine's Day."

"I was checking," Castle said before he then wrapped his arms around her and kissed her a little desperately. He was relieved when his wife responded to him quickly and he wrapped his arms around her as they pressed their chests against each other tightly. When they needed to breathe he moved to kiss around her neck and mumbled to her before she was gently pushing away from him. "What?" he asked.

"Are you sure?" Beckett asked him teasingly.

"Well… maybe we should see how long we can take our foreplay before we go crazy," Castle suggested.

"I think that might be a while," Beckett told him, brushing her lips against the shell of his ear. "But it sounds like a challenge."

"I know you like those," Castle said before they kissed again. He then looked between them and asked, "What do you think we should do first?"

"Want to give me that massage?" Beckett asked him.

"Yes please," Castle replied rapidly.

Beckett smiled then and he leaned over, kissing her before she pulled away and then went over to the bathroom again to grab the bottle of lotion. With that she returned to Castle, throwing the bottle at him saying, "Nice catch."

"You weren't too far," Castle said with a smile. "So, whenever you're ready my love." He wasn't surprised when she glanced at him at his poor attempt to not sound eager but she soon lay on her stomach and he was quick to get some of the lotion on his hands before he reached over to her and then began to rub into her muscles.

Breathing out a sigh at his touch Beckett turned to press her cheek on her arm and said to her husband, "There's not going to be much to work on you know."

"I know," Castle said with a nod. "But I really don't care." He felt a slight thrill at her soft laugh and he couldn't stop himself, leaning down and kissing the back of her shoulder. "How much do you want me to do?" he asked her when he forced himself to sit back up and continue.

"Hmm, not much longer," Beckett replied. She closed her eyes, feeling the way his hands were pressing into her muscles and letting the erotic nature of that touch affect her. Eventually she turned her head to press her mouth to her arm, trying not to moan too loudly as her arousal began to become too much for her to handle.

Since he was watching his wife very closely Castle could tell what she was going through. The way her legs were slightly squeezing together was the biggest indication and he finally stopped asking, "Enough?"

"Yes," Beckett said. She turned around to look at him, in time to see him climb off the bed before she heard him starting to wash his hands. She couldn't help herself, reaching down to her sex and gently fingering her clit before she jerked against the bed as she had to bite down on her lower lip.

Coming out to her Castle paused when he saw the way his wife looked, touching herself with her other arm up by her head. "You couldn't wait for me?" he asked her to get her attention. He was slightly surprised when she shook her head no, not opening her eyes, so he went over to her quickly. There he became shocked when Beckett was grabbing him and pulling him onto the bed with her. As he was sitting somehow at her direction he said to her, "So… you want me with you this time?"

"You don't?" Beckett asked him teasingly, knowing what he was doing with that question. Before he could answer she moved to lower herself on to him, since she was straddling him already, and she gasped in pleasure as he held her tightly by the hips until they were joined. "I guess you do," she said with a smirk for him.

Leaning over Castle kissed her deeply and groaned into her mouth as she began to move and he slid his hands over to the small of her back. When they'd parted to breathe he watched her, the way the pleasure was so prevalent on her face, and he leaned down to her neck. He sucked gently at it before he then moved lower to her breasts. Luckily she was grabbing at the back of his head and pushing him down to her, making him groan against her breast he was kissing before she tilted his head back. "No?" he asked, worried that was the case.

"Yes, just… I don't want us to stay like this," Beckett said in a kind of warning. "The table?" she asked, gasping as when she'd spoken that her husband leaned down and took her right breast. She ran her hands over the back of his head repeatedly as he suckled hard at her and she found the sensation of that was an echo that shot straight to where she was moving around him. She cried out his name as he pulled back to nip at the taut nub, her nails scratching at his scalp in the process. She began to rock her body against him to have him stay where he was at that moment and she augmented that by flexing herself about him, moaning softly as he groaned against her skin; working at that moment over her other breast.

Trying his best to continue working over his wife's skin; as he was moving around between her breasts and shoulders by then; Castle found it more and more difficult to hold onto his self control. He was delighted by how she felt and the way she was moving, so eager for him he could tell, and he couldn't keep them as they were. Luckily he had heard what she'd requested but instead of taking her over to the table he moved her onto her back and mumbled against her lips, "Just like this Kate… I want to be close… just like this…" He kissed her deeply as they moved together rapidly before he slid to her neck and then went to her breasts again.

The way he was taking each mound Beckett felt the pleasure rising as everything was becoming too much to handle. When he stopped she found herself relieved and not angry as she could have been, holding him tightly to her while he feverishly kissed her. After kissing him she said once they'd pulled apart, "Thank you."

"I was close too," Castle breathed heavily. He then kissed her deeply and after they'd stopped told her, "I want to drag this out."

"You can," Beckett said absently, running her foot along his leg as she'd had her leg bent to place it flat against his knee while they'd made love. "But not now."

Nodding his head in agreement Castle moved them around before letting her get off of him before she pressed against the headboard in front of him. He reached out to her and gently slapped her ass, loving the way she gasped in response to that before he was moving to press against her back. It took a little between them before they could finally become coupled again but they were and he started to move almost instantly, thrusting nearly at the same time hard. As Beckett was begging him to fuck her he did so, watching the way her hands pressed against the wall to give herself leverage to move as well. He kissed around her shoulders; what he could reach; and then moved up to her neck. Kissing along whatever he could reach of her he groaned hard as she started to lose a little of her rhythm with him. He took that as a need to stop and did so, pulling away from her so he could help her lay down again. When she was set he started to kiss her though he kept himself from entering her again, moving down to her neck and finally the hollow of her throat where his lips brushed against her skin and her aquamarine pendant. "More?" he asked finally, looking down at her.

"I don't think you have to ask," Beckett said, wrapping her legs around him tightly. She took his kiss as together they were able to get him back inside of her and as he started to thrust against her hard she could feel again that she wasn't going to last for too long. When she could look at her husband she wasn't surprised to see that he was struggling too and she breathed out hard at the thought they could affect each other so intensely. But before she could think about that for long he was stopping and slipping from her to lie on his side, burying his face into his pillow. She turned to him and gently stroked the back of his head before draping herself over his back. "Should we wait a little longer this time?" she whispered to him.

"If you want to keep going then yes," Castle replied. He groaned as she pulled at him and he turned over at her direction and he held her as she sat up a little. "You're gorgeous you know."

"And you are straining," Beckett told him with a smile. She watched him raise his head and nod before she laughed and then leaned over to him to give him a quick kiss on the lips. "I think that's enough," she said to him firmly before she climbed onto him. Straddling him she moved quickly as she didn't want to give him a chance to stop her before they were together. Breathing out hard once in her pleasure she started to rock against him rapidly, feeling the way his hands seemed to clutch at her in his pleasure. She couldn't help say to him then, "I think this will be it."

"Not tonight," Castle told her seriously. He managed to push himself up and fell into a hard kiss with her before he leaned back on one of his hands, watching her closely to see the way her body moved a little closer than if he was laying down. He was shuddering inwardly at the way she looked working as hard as she was and he leaned over to kiss her briefly before telling her, "Come for me Kate, I imagined you so many times today. Now I have you… I need to see you."

Though the words were a help, everything that Castle was doing to her was becoming far too much for her to handle and Beckett let herself go. Her entire body tensed up and she arched her back as the ecstasy that felt like a pure heat took over for her. She had no idea how long she was like that, thrusting wildly and calling her husband's name repeatedly. She was aware of when he joined her in that and their hips were loudly smacking together until it was just his hitting hers as she'd stopped.

Holding Beckett tightly Castle tried not to be too rough with her but it was a losing battle as the pleasure in him was too much to overpower. When he was finally still he held her with both his arms, stroking her hair as he murmured to her briefly before she was turning her head so they could kiss.

When they'd finally pulled away from one another sometime later, Beckett smiled at her husband and said, "Sleep?"

"Well," Castle said, checking the time. "I don't think it's too bad."

Brushing her lips to her husband's Beckett got off of him and then pulled him by the hand to the bathroom. With his help she was up on the counter between the two sinks before he sank into her at her encouragement and they began to thrust roughly, kissing deeply as they were doing so and running their hands all over each other's bodies.

* * *

Running his fingers through his wife's hair Castle looked down at her when she began to shift and he asked, "Think we should sleep?"

Sighing as she couldn't help be tempted by the way her body was still throbbing in her sated pleasure Beckett finally said, "I think so but it feels early still."

"Are you paying any attention to the time?" Castle asked.

Smiling Beckett turned her head and kissed her husband hungrily until they parted and she told him, "Difficult to do that when you're spending so much time distracting me."

"At your request," Castle said with a slight smirk for her. He wasn't surprised when she laughed and she kissed him again after that and that time he pulled away from her before murmuring, "I love you Kate," staring deeply into her eyes. "I can't help wanting to do that, repeatedly."

"Hmm I want you to too," Beckett replied. She then caressed his cheek with her hand and said softly to him, "I love you too Rick." She wasn't surprised when he kissed her and she responded eagerly before they very carefully stopped and she lay with her cheek pressing to his shoulder.

"Here," Castle told her, sitting up a little then as she got out of his way. He grabbed the covers and pulled them over their bodies though he was unable to help slide his hand over her side as he moved to lie down again. At her shiver he said, "Sorry."  
"Wow, that was the worst apology I've ever heard," Beckett said in amusement as she straightened the covers. "Your mother would be horrified."

"She'd know I wasn't trying very hard to convey regret," Castle said before she was lying in his arms. He kissed her before she was settled completely and they did do deeply until he moved away first and with her slightly above him he began to run his fingers through her hair again. "How many times?" he asked.

Knowing where he was going with that Beckett tried her best not to smile and told him, "You want to count?"

"In detail," Castle said hurriedly.

"Not too much," Beckett said pointedly. She wasn't surprised when her husband hurriedly nodded to that and she sighed before thoughtfully saying, "Penetration or anything we did to get each other off?"

"Dear god that word has never sounded sexier," Castle said, shuddering hard as he held her tightly.

Though she wanted to joke about that Beckett refrained and instead said, "Let's say penetration-" There she had to stop as her husband was shaking again and she brushed her lips against his before she then said, "We were together here on the bed, after in the bathroom though that was twice." There she tried not to recall the way her husband had taken her both on top of the counter and then against it as he'd asked to watch her in the mirror. Shaking her head she then said, "We somehow ended up on the nightstand," looking at it as they'd just managed to get everything set back on top of it after they'd worked together to shove the items to the floor and taken one another roughly on it.

"Then we spent… three times here on the bed?" Castle asked her. When his wife nodded he then said, "Seven times."

"Not many breaks between them," Beckett said with a slight smirk. She ran her hand over her husband's chest gently and told him, "You're an amazing man Rick."

"Only as amazing as the goddess who's arousing me," Castle replied. "That made sense and isn't sappy right?" he then asked her.

"It did and no it isn't," Beckett replied with a smile before leaning down and kissing him deeply. She wasn't surprised when he wrapped his arms around her tightly before their tongues met and proceeded to duel eagerly until finally they slowly pulled away. Their tongues dragged against each other until they were out in the air and looking into his eyes she wasn't surprised when he flipped her around onto her back and proceeded to kiss her frantically. She responded in turn and when they slowly parted she breathed heavily saying, "I don't think we could stop."

"It would be difficult," Castle said, studying her intently. He opened his mouth to beg her to make love with him again when he stopped and instead told her, "Here love." He then lay back and held her against him before they brushed their lips together and he said, "Goodnight love."

"Goodnight Rick," Beckett said softly. She settled against him and closed her eyes though a smile went across her face briefly at the remembrance of their Valentine's Day together. As they both fell asleep she found she didn't want to stop celebrating and reminded herself to tell her husband that before she finally slipped into repose to find him again in her dreams as the night wore on.


	24. Been Thinking Of All Day

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: The lyrics in this chapter are from the song _On the Wings of a Nightingale_ by Paul McCartney.

A/N #2: So great to get the feedback that I did for the last chapter so let me get to my thank yous for that! TORONTOSUN (Great to see that you like the way the girls talk with Jim. And I was so pleased that you enjoyed the time Castle and Beckett had walking around Embassy Row together. And yeah, had to have the girls eager to see their parents again so it was nice to read you liked the way they were with that. I was happy to see you thought Castle and Beckett's Valentine's Day was perfect and of course happy to see you enjoyed the love scenes at the end of it too!) and vetgirlmx (I was happy to see first off you thought it was a very nice chapter. And it was great to read that you thought that even though it was a low key celebration you thought Castle and Beckett's anniversary was really nice and perfect. I figured it fit Beckett better than anything really big in the end. And I was so happy that I surprised you with the Irish ambassador calling them into the embassy. And yeah, I did want to show they are famous but not just for their books or actually I should say for more than just the books. I'm glad that you love the fact Jim is going to join them in DC. And I had to laugh at your mentioning that Castle's rubbing off on him with regards to surprising people but you make a good point, lol. It was great to see your reaction to Castle and Beckett wanting to write with Eliza. Lol, I figure that would just happen since they write with Julia already, but great you're getting excited for it! Great to see that you can't wait to read more with them almost seeing their family again and now you don't need to anymore!). Thanks so much for the reviews, I loved reading them and am grateful for you both taking the time to write them out and send them to me!

A/N #3: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _Brand New Day_ by Sting, from his album of the same name.

Been Thinking Of All Day

"Alright the couch is back to normal, we never used the table… and the bed is as set as I could get it," Castle was saying as Beckett stepped out from the bathroom.

"I don't think we're going to let them go on the bed," she said with a smile as she went to where he was standing in the doorway, looking around. "But the room looks fine Rick."

"I just don't want to convey what we've been doing in there," Castle replied as he followed her to the chez lounge where she sat down to put on her boots. "You're eager to see them right?"

Looking up at him without tilting her head Beckett said, "I am, I'm just not so expressive."

Castle smiled, since her tone of voice didn't convey that she cared that he was, and he waited for her to stand up before he wrapped his arms around her. Pulling her close he kissed her gently before they parted and said, "Impressive isn't it?"

"We've exchanged shorter kisses," Beckett said in mock annoyance. She smiled when her husband smirked and leaned over into him before they kissed a little deeper that time. But they were soon parting and she said, "We took care of that this morning."

"We did," Castle said, trying not to recall the way they had made love that morning in the shower and the way they'd kissed there. Shaking his head he followed her to the entry where they put on their coats and he said, "Do we need to really come back?"

"We do," Beckett said, not surprised he wanted to get to the museum as soon as they were with the girls. She tucked her gloves into her coat pocket and said as she began to tuck her scarf into her coat, "You know that they're going to have their suitcases. We should let your mom unpack and get the girls' clothes too."

"True," Castle said. "Are you ready?"

"Yes, let's go," Beckett told him before she waited for him to check that he had the room key. Walking out into the hall first she took his hand once the door was closed behind him and they held hands tightly as they made their way to the front of the hotel where there was a line of cabs. Once she and Castle were on their way to Dulles she said with a smile to her husband, "I forgot to tell you, Patrick said to be there at about five."

"Great," Castle replied. "Should we have told them where we're going for dinner?"

"Would your mom mind?" Beckett asked him.

"I don't think so," Castle replied. "And I'm sure she'll be interested to meet Patrick once she knows we're going over there. Well, him and Trevor and Maddy."

"Good," Beckett said, slightly laughingly.

When they'd reached the airport nearly a half hour later Castle was quick to pay the driver before he stepped out onto the curb with Beckett and they hurried inside where the people would come out from the gates. He was holding his wife's hand again tightly and when she told him to take it easy he said in slight concern, "Am I squeezing too hard?"

"A little," Beckett said, smiling at him as she couldn't help find his eagerness adorable. She did understand it since he'd last seen the girls two weeks before while she'd only been away from them for not even five days. "They'll be here soon," she assured him. That made her remember something and she said to him, "You're not tracking their flight still?"

"Oh, that's right," Castle said, getting his phone out of his pocket as fast as he could. He went to the site and said, "They're nearly here, they're running a few minutes late."

"Of course," Beckett said with a slight smile. "Let's sit until they land."

Castle allowed himself to be led away before he watched the people passing by when he wasn't looking at the screen of his phone with his wife. Soon enough their family's plane landed and he was tempted to jump up when she put her hand on his arm. "Sorry," he said sincerely.

"It's alright," Beckett said gently with a smile at him. "They still have to get off the plane and make sure they have their carryon luggage."

"Which should just be one thing," Castle pointed out. "My mom's suitcase."

"I'm sure Julia has her backpack," Beckett reminded him.

"I forgot," Castle said. "We'll be taking that to Japan won't we?"

"Of course," Beckett replied. "Do you think we should take them gifts like we did in the summer?"

"Just a couple things to do," Castle replied. "Since of course we'll drive through some of Japan."

Nodding Beckett then said, "We should go; now they'll be coming out."

Castle was able to walk with her over to where some others were standing waiting for passengers but he was again holding onto her hand tightly before the first passengers were coming off. "Was this the only flight?" he asked his wife.

"No so they might not be here yet," Beckett said softly. She was looking over everyone but didn't see three familiar faces until suddenly she and her husband heard familiar cries behind a group walking together.

"There they are," Castle said, about to step forward before he stopped himself, waving hard to the girls.

"Dad?" Beckett said in surprise when she caught sight of him.

The girls, when they were close enough, let go of the hand of their grandparent they were holding and took off at a run. "Daddy!" they cried at nearly the same time before they launched themselves at Castle who had knelt for them.

Taking both girls into his arms Castle held them close and said, "I missed you two," kissing the sides of their heads after.

When she and Eliza were leaning back to look at him after Julia said, "We missed you Daddy. So much," before she then hugged him again.

"Lots Daddy," Eliza told him. She shared a kiss with him and then said as he was doing the same with her sister, "You missed us lots?"

"A lot," Castle said. "Every day I was gone. Now say hello to your mother, she missed you as much as I did," he told them as he ushered them to Beckett.

"We missed you Mommy," Eliza said, running to her mother first and throwing her arms around her tightly as Beckett knelt. "A lot too."

"I had a feeling you did," she said in amusement. "Thank you for telling me too." She then opened her other arm to take Julia into it and hugged them both as tightly as she could. "And your daddy was right, I missed you." After they'd hugged she then shared a kiss with them both before saying, "Did you know your grandpapa was coming?"

Giggling with her sister Julia was able to calm down first before she said, "He said not to tell you so it would be a surprise."

"Then you both did a great job, I'm very surprised," Beckett replied. She kissed them both and with a last squeeze she stood before hugging her father tightly. "I'm so glad you were able to come with them," she told him.

"I wasn't kidding when I said I wanted to try," Jim replied. When they let go of each other he smiled at her, seeing she seemed far happier than she'd sounded when he had talked to her while Castle was gone. Relieved he watched her hug Martha while the girls went to their father and then said, "Where are we going after we have our luggage?"

"To the hotel," Castle said, glancing at his wife with a smile when she went over to Eliza's other side to take her hand. "And then we'll go up to the museum. Well, the museum and the Mall."

"What about the basin?" Eliza asked, looking up at both her parents as they stopped at the carousel.

"The Tidal Basin?" Castle asked. When the toddler nodded he then said, "We could go there," looking to his wife.

"We probably should," Beckett said with a nod. "Since they do want to see it. Though do you mind if we don't see it at night?"

"I didn't think you were gonna let us Mommy," Julia told her seriously.

"We might see it tonight," Castle said.

"What are we doing tonight," Jim said though they were all watching the suitcases go around in front of them.

"We're having dinner at my friend Patrick's house," Beckett explained. "He wants to meet you all; so does the rest of his family."

"How is he?" Jim asked.

Beckett spoke with her father then while she and Castle were getting the suitcases to load on the carts they had gotten. She explained a little about Darnley and what had happened to him since leaving NYC before saying, "He's doing well."

"It does sound like it," Jim replied with a nod. "He's set on detective?"

Beckett smiled and said, "He wasn't kidding," Beckett replied. "He wants to stick with solving crimes and not being a superior."

"I'm interested in meeting his husband," Jim said.

"I'm just interested in meeting Patrick himself," Martha said as they walked to the door together with the girls in tow.

"Daddy," Eliza said, tugging her father's hand. "I wanna go to the museum. Please?"

"You need to unpack," Castle said gently. "But hopefully it won't take too long because I want to go too."

"We almost forgot," Beckett said then, looking at her husband. "Skye and Mary will be there too."

"They're still here?" Martha asked.

"They're going to come to the airport with us on Monday afternoon," Beckett explained.

"Which is really nice," Castle said, leading them to a van taxi parked against the curb. "Since they're going in their own plane they don't need to wait for their flight."

"Are they gonna be there at dinner?" Julia asked hopefully as her father and mother started to load the suitcases with the help of the driver.

Leading the girls into the van Martha said, "Wait until we're driving for them to answer that kiddo."

"They will be there," Castle said once he'd given the name of the hotel to the driver. "Kind of like the dinner we had our first night here together."

"I can't wait," Julia said.

"I wanna see the museum," Eliza repeated firmly.

"We'll see them after the museum's closed," Beckett said, sharing a smile with her husband as they were sitting on either side of the toddler's car seat their parents had brought with them. "For now relax we've got to drive into the city."

The girls were both looking outside as much as they could manage to do so; taking in the sights though it wasn't until they got to a river that they saw the monument their parents had taken a selfie in front of the day before.

"Which one is it?" Julia asked eagerly.

"That's the Washington Monument," Castle answered. "We're going to take you by the bottom of it."

"Good," Eliza said firmly. She then looked at it in awe and said, "It is very tall."

"It is," Beckett said, leaning over and kissing the top of her head. They were pulling up in front of the hotel after going south of the Mall and she helped Castle get their suitcases before they checked them in and went inside up to their floor.

"I never asked how are the beds?" Jim said to his daughter as they were going down the hall.

"There's a king in one room and twin beds in the other," Castle answered since his wife didn't know. "I'm not sure how you want to divide them."

"I can take a twin bed," Jim said.

"Then I think you and I are sharing the king bed Eliza," Martha told the toddler.

"I can sleep in the twin bed," Julia replied as her sister and the rest of their family were looking to her then. "I don't mind."

"Okay, now we can see what your room looks like," Castle said as he opened the door for them. He watched the girls race inside and handed his mother and Jim the keys before he was last after them and Beckett.

"Look at the water!" Julia said, with her sister at the main window in that bedroom. She turned to look at the twin beds before she said to her parents, "I thought there were two rooms."

"There are," Castle said as the bellman that had come with them had opened a door in the wall to show the second bedroom. "They put two together for you."

"It's very nice," Jim said, looking into the living room of the one Martha and Eliza would be sharing. "So we won't take long to unpack or I won't."

"I'll take care of the girls' things," Martha told Beckett as she had placed the suitcase the girls were sharing on the bed.

"We want to see your room!" Eliza said eagerly.

"Yeah, it looked nice," Julia said. "What we could see of it when we talked to you."  
"Alright," Beckett said when Castle turned to her to let her answer. "Come to the room, we're at nine sixty, when you're done." She took Julia's hand as Castle picked Eliza up and they went out into the hall together and over to the other room.

"This is it?" Julia gasped when she and her sister stepped inside the room.

"It is," Castle said, watching with a smile as Eliza rushed over to the couch to climb up it. "That was where we sat to talk to you."

"Look at the boats," Eliza said in wonder when her sister had joined her on the couch.

"That's the marina," Beckett said, going over to them with Castle. "Do you want to see the bedroom?"

"Yeah," Julia said, turning and climbing down. She turned back to Eliza and asked, "You don't wanna see?"

Eliza was going to answer no but she then followed and looking at the room said, "More couches!"

"I'll stay with her," Castle told his wife as she'd gone after Julia to the bathroom.

"Did you use this bathtub?" the little girl asked her mother.

"We did but only once," Beckett replied. "Come here," she then said, taking her hand and leading her over to the bedroom. "If you want you can watch the boats until your grandparents get here," she told her oldest.

"Sure," Julia said, going over to the chez lounge with her sister and father before Beckett joined them.

When there was a knock on the door Beckett was the one to open it to her mother in law and father and said, "They're distracted," softly.

"What view do you have?" Martha said, looking around the living room.

"Look Gram," Eliza called then as she heard her.

Walking to the chez lounge Jim smiled and said, "That would make sense."

"Are we ready now?" Castle said quickly when Julia looked at her grandfather then.

"I am!" Eliza said happily.

"Come on," Castle told her, picking her up and throwing her up in the air a bit. He took her to the entry where he then bundled her up while Beckett helped Julia before they left.

"How far is the Mall?" Martha asked.

"Not too far but you two might want to take a cab," Beckett said, handing her father the travel guide opened to the page with the map of the area around the mall.

"I can walk," Jim said.

"So can I," Martha replied as she saw the girls were looking over at them. They stepped out of the elevator and they walked to the door before her son and daughter in law were leading them north on the street.

"Is that it?" Eliza asked with a gasp from her father's shoulders.

"That's the monument," Julia said quickly before anyone could. She squeezed her mother's hand tightly as they made their way to the bottom of the obelisk and when they neared it she got her camera in her hand; since it had been around her neck after they left their parents' room. She took pictures as they neared it, stopping every so often, before she smiled in thanks at her mother for walking with her.

"I wasn't going to leave you to catch up with us," Beckett said with a smile. "You'll want to take a picture here looking straight up."

"Did you do that too?" Julia asked as they soon caught up with the others.

"She did," Castle said. "Is she still looking up?" he asked the others, motioning to Eliza who was on his shoulders.

"She is," Jim said, touching the toddler's arm. "You're going to hurt your neck honey."

Looking down Eliza glanced back down at what she could see of the Mall and she asked the others, "Where is the museum?"

"It's here," Castle said. "Down in that direction but we're going the other way first."

"What's next?" Julia asked, having taken as many pictures as she was inspired to.

"Something you'll like seeing," Beckett said, walking with her again. She looked at her father who was on the other side of her oldest and she wondered if he was remembering when they had been there with her mother. She was shaken from her thoughts then when Julia's hand slipped into her's and she smiled at her before they reached the Reflecting Pool.

"Oh, I've seen this before," Julia breathed. "In my history book."

"We know, we wanted to bring you here for this especially," Castle said, nodding down the pool to the other end.

"Is that the Lincoln one?" Julia asked hopefully.

"It is," Beckett said. "Ready?" she asked as the little girl was taking pictures. When Julia nodded she took her hand and led the way to the steps of the monument before they made their way up to the statue. Standing with her daughter looking up at it as their family gathered around them she squeezed her hand and said, "Your grandmama admired him."

"A lot," Jim said with a slight smile when his granddaughter looked to him. "You learned about him right?"

"Yes, he was a lawyer wasn't he?" Julia asked. At her grandfather's nod she then said, "And he helped to stop slavery. But I learned he didn't want to go to war."

"He didn't but he didn't have much of a choice," Castle said. "Turn around now Julia."

"Why Daddy?" Eliza asked above him.

"Over here," Beckett answered for her husband. "Is where a very famous man named Martin Luther King stood to make a speech."

"For what?" Eliza said, looking confused.

"So people would treat everyone the same," Jim said when his daughter and son in law turned to him. He gave a basic description but once Martha took Eliza from Castle and they'd gone down the steps ahead of them to look at the pool he turned to Julia.

"Is it because his skin was a different color?" the little girl asked. She frowned when her grandfather nodded and she said, "That's not nice… or smart."

"No but that's why he was giving a speech, so things would change," Jim said. He went on his phone and after getting a picture he held it in front of Julia saying, "This was his view that day."

"Wow," the little girl said in awe. "That's a lot of people."

"A lot of people agreed with him," Beckett said then.

"And they weren't just African American," Castle added. "They were different nationalities and religions and everything."

"And they agreed with him," Julia said.

"They did," Jim said. "Not everyone in the country did of course but people here did."

"Cool," Julia said. She took a few pictures spanning from left to right and then said to her mother, "Will you help me make a panoramic?"

"Of course, once we get back home," Beckett told her, hugging her to her side before she let her go to her father. As she and Jim followed the two ahead of them down the stairs she touched his arm and said, "You remember being here with Mom?"

"Oh of course, you know she and I were so glad to see this spot; since we were of an age to remember when this speech happened," Jim replied with a smile that soon disappeared. "We were glad to share it with you." He shook himself then and turned to his daughter saying, "You're happy to be back with Richard?"

"Of course," Beckett said, looping her arm through his. "Are we going now?" she called to her husband then.

"Yeah, I think they're leading the way," Castle called back, laughter in his voice as the girls were tugging at his arm and trying to talk at the same time. "Hold on, hold on," he told them in a fake British accent. "One at a time please! What do you want to tell me Eliza?"

Watching them as Martha joined the three Jim said, "You know she mentioned something to me last night while we were discussing the two of you over some coffee."

"Oh?" Beckett asked. "Wait, I thought you usually talk about the girls?"

"We'd done that already," Jim said, not surprised his daughter was aware of what he and Castle's mother talked about when they were caring for their granddaughters. "But she said you wanted me to retire."

Beckett nearly stopped walking but she forced herself to keep going through her surprise before she told him, "It's not that I want to force you to retire Dad. More that I think you should… ease up and eventually get to it."

"I realize I'm not young anymore," Jim said. "But it's kept me sustained."

"Dad, the girls-" Beckett started to say, looking to him then.

"I know," Jim interrupted her. "But maybe… in a year I'll stop."

"Really?" Beckett asked in slight shock.

"I've thought of it, the trip to see the girls is an irritation that I'd love to cut out," Jim answered. "But would you honestly want your father living with you?"

Trying not to blush as she knew what her father was signifying with that Beckett told him, "We told you Dad that we would love you to move in with us."

"However you're still acting like a newlywed couple I'm guessing?" Jim asked. When his daughter nodded he smiled and said, "Your mother and I were like that; in private of course; but we were still that deeply in love."

"I could tell," Beckett said softly. "But Dad it wouldn't be as if you were intruding; I'll tell you again you already have a room."

"Thinking about that I was wondering what if I took the room off the pool?" Jim suggested.

"No," Beckett said immediately. "Absolutely not Dad I'm not tucking you away down there as if we're ashamed you're with us. And I think the girls and Rick would agree with me."

"He really wouldn't mind me there," Jim said instead of asked. When she just looked at him he finally nodded his head and said, "I might take up a hobby… outside the home."

"Dad," Beckett said, rolling her eyes.

Smiling at her slightly frustrated tone of voice, which he hadn't heard much of since she was a young teenager, Jim was about to tell her that he wanted to move in when she spoke before he could.

"You would be okay leaving the city?" Beckett asked softly.

"I would Katie, I have many memories of your mother there but I don't need to live there to keep them," Jim told her. "So I'll move whenever I get myself to retire; I just don't know when that'll be exactly."

"Good, thank you," Beckett said, kissing his cheek. "We're here."

"It's been a long time," Jim said before he saw the girls running back to them and taking his hands. He couldn't help laugh at them as they begged him to come with them inside since their father had told them he'd been there before with his mother.

"Is he okay?" Castle asked, going with his wife up the steps as his mother was with the others.

"He'll move in with us whenever he retires," Beckett said. "Maybe within a year." When she saw the surprised looked on her husband's face she smiled and told him quickly, "Don't expect it to be then exactly, maybe a year and a half… two years tops."

"Okay," Castle said with a nod, unable to say anything else as he hurried to pay for their admission. "Now," he told the others, smiling as the girls were watching him with smiles as well. "We're going to walk through as much as we can together but no running. We have enough time to see everything."

"Everything?" Eliza asked.

"Yep," Castle said. "What's first love?"

"First off we're unfortunately going to miss out on their fossil collection," Beckett said since she'd taken the map. "It's not opening until September of this year. But we'll still see dinosaurs," she said quickly as she could tell the girls were going to protest. "First we have mammals."

They walked then back to the elephant that was in the middle of the rotunda, both girls looking at it with awe though it wasn't the first time they'd seen dioramas of elephants. Finally they were able to get the two to walk to the first exhibit and they went through the first room before Beckett pulled her mother in law and father to the side.

"I think we should let him spend time with the girls on his own," she told them.

"Wait," Castle said, going over to them. "They want to go with me one at a time."

"Really," Beckett said, smiling at the two who were beaming at her.

"And with you," Julia said firmly. "Can we see the map please?" When she had it from Beckett she and her sister looked at it and they whispered to each other softly.

"It's a little conspiracy," Castle couldn't help comment though he kept his voice low so the girls wouldn't hear that.

"They're adorable," Martha said. "They have been missing you."

"We could tell," Beckett said quickly before they rejoined them. "Did you decide?"

"Yeah but Grandpapa, Gram what are you gonna do?" Julia asked.

"We'll go around, don't worry," Martha assured them.

"Why don't you go on your own until lunch?" Jim asked. "And we'll join you after that."

"Aren't you gonna eat too Grandpapa?" Eliza asked him, taking his hand.

"I will," Jim said, smiling at her earnestly asked question. "So what are you going to do now?"

"Eliza's going with Daddy," Julia said. "And she wants to go with you to see the butterflies."

"Awesome," Castle said, smiling when the toddler giggled. "And you and your mom?"

"I think I know already," Beckett said with a smile for their oldest.

"I think I do too," Martha said.

"And me," Jim added.

"The gemstones?" Beckett asked. When Julia nodded eagerly she smiled again and then said, "What about you?"

"The mummies," Jim said quickly as he'd been looking at the map then. "Martha-"

"I'll join you," Castle's mother interrupted. "We'll meet at the café when?"

Looking at his watch Castle said, "In two and a half hours; so we get an hour and a half each with each girl."

"Me Daddy," Eliza said, grasping his hand tightly.

"I know, we're going to go right now," Castle said. He then picked up the toddler and said, "See you for lunch," before they all split up and walked away from each other. He went to where he knew there was an elevator and they rode up together, Eliza kissing his cheek.

"Daddy?" the toddler asked.

"Yes sweetheart," Castle replied.

"Can you stay home forever?" Eliza asked. "Mommy was sad. Very sad that you were not there."

"I'm not going on a tour like this again," Castle assured her as he stepped out of the elevator. He looked at the map he had quickly before he walked in the direction of the butterfly pavilion and then put his daughter down. "But your mom and I might do this now that you two are older."

"You will be with each other," Eliza said slowly.

"Yep, oh look," Castle said. "Bugs."

"The butterflies please Daddy," Eliza said firmly before her father took her into the pavilion. She looked around the area in awe, seeing the butterflies flying through it to the different flowering plants. She giggled and said, "I like this Daddy."

"I'm glad," Castle said as he led her to the first group of flowers. He watched her looking at a butterfly with yellow and black on its wings and he then picked her up carefully so she could see it face to face. He saw the look of complete awe on her face before the insect flew away and he kissed her temple before saying, "Let's keep going."

"Yeah, there are more to see," Eliza said in a matter of fact tone of voice. She and Castle then made their way through the exhibit together, looking at all the butterflies she could find and not realizing that her father was taking a few pictures. She did notice, near the end of it, what he was doing and she said shyly, "Why Daddy?"

"Because I want your mom and everyone else to see you," Castle said. "I'm sending this one to your mom, what do you think?" he asked her.

"Oh yes, please," Eliza said as it had been taken when one had flown around her shoulder for a bit. When he sent it off they walked on and she then said, "Can we look here now?" indicating the insect zoo.

"Yes," Castle said. "I want to see it too. Look, this woman has something on her arm."

Crying out at the sight of the grasshopper Eliza asked when they were close to the woman, "Is it real?"

Smiling as the employee laughed Castle listened as the woman told his daughter about the bug and then placed it on her arm. As Eliza squealed at it he took a quick picture and then kissed her temple before he took the bug in hand. While he and the toddler were looking at it he had to wonder what they were going to look at next though he pushed that from his mind quickly as he didn't want to worry about that just yet.

* * *

"That's it?" Julia was asking.

"It is," Beckett said as they looked at the Hope Diamond together.

"Did you see this before?" Julia asked, turning to her mother.

"I did," Beckett replied with a slight smile. "My mother was normally not superstitious but she said to your grandpapa that he might want to think twice if he wanted to gift the gem to her; as a joke."

Giggling softly Julia said, "So it's cursed."

"I don't think so," Beckett said. "At least not now; as your daddy would say. The reason being that was not the setting it was in when I came here. When I came it was surrounded by round diamonds, not lines."

"So they worked on it," Julia said thoughtfully. "Where did it come from?"

"The story goes that it was stolen from a temple in India," Beckett said. "That's where the story of the curse comes from."

"Ooh, that makes sense," Julia said with a nod. "If it's stolen then that's really, really bad."

"It was brought to France," Beckett said, trying to recall what she'd learned of the diamond since the blue of the stone had always enthralled her though she never knew why. "And I think it was given to Louis XIV and then went to Louis XVI who was the king they got rid of in the French Revolution; though they never could prove it went to that king. Eventually it made it here to the US and the very famous jeweler-"

"Harry Winston," Julia interrupted her mother. When she looked at her in surprise she giggled and said, "Daddy said he wished he could give you jewelry from him but it was too much for you." She looked a little confused before saying, "He didn't mean that it was expensive right?" When her mother shook her head she said, "Too fancy."

Smiling at her daughter not asking that Beckett said, "It's likely; he knows I like to keep things very simple."

"What if you had to go somewhere fancy? Like the Oscars?" Julia asked with a gasp.

"I don't think your daddy and I would be going," Beckett said. "Well… I guess if they made a movie from one of his books or ours but I doubt it. But if there was ever a chance they'd honor him for his writing; the Manhattan Writer's Society; then I would maybe wear something a little more fancy as you said."

Julia smiled and took her mother's hand as they continued on over to some minerals. She saw the minerals in the first display and she tugged Beckett over to a blue stone. "Is that aquamarine?" she asked eagerly as she took a picture.

"It is," Beckett said with a smile. "But before they turn it into a gem."

"So pretty," Julia breathed. They continued through the stones and she found herself lingering at the blue stones more.

Watching her daughter Beckett eventually placed her hand on her shoulder and said, "Do you mind your emerald sweetie?"

"Oh no," Julia said, reaching up to her pendant as she always wore it when she could. "I love it 'cause of what Daddy said when he gave it to me," she said, blushing at the end.

"He was right, it does match your eyes," Beckett said, stroking her hair.

"Yours kinda matches Daddy's," Julia told her.

"I think that's the other reason he bought it for me," Beckett replied. "Come on, now you can see your gems."

Julia walked through with her mother, looking intently at everything they passed and loving the different kinds of gems used for the different items. But when they reached a brooch of a peacock she squealed and said, "Oh Mommy, look at how pretty this is!"

"I know," Beckett said, smiling as she lowered her camera. "I remember this, your grandmama and I loved this when we saw it."

"Even though it's gold," Julia said. "But isn't that heavy to wear?"

"A little but as a display piece I think it's very nice," Beckett said. She smiled when her daughter nodded eagerly and laughed softly as they looked through the rest of the exhibit, pausing a little longer at the Marie Antoinette diamond earrings. There Julia begged her to tell her what had happened to the queen and though she wasn't sure about that she then explained the Revolution but she didn't go in too much detail.

"Why didn't anyone teach them how to be king and queen?" Julia said as they went over to the geology section that was next to the minerals.

"I suppose they didn't realize they would need to," Beckett answered. "But these days she's seen as a victim, they both are. And France is a democracy, don't forget."

"I won't Mommy," Julia said seriously with a nod. She smiled and then said, "Thank you for telling me."

"You'll learn about it next year," Beckett replied. "Now are you ready to learn about geology?" When the little girl nodded again she took her hand as they walked inside the first section of the exhibit together eagerly, looking forward to see what there was to look at.

* * *

"Owie," Castle said in a mock whining tone when the toddler ran her fingers through his hair. He smiled as Eliza kissed the top of his head and then smoothed down his hair before he noticed that Julia and Beckett were coming to where they were waiting in front of the dinosaur exhibit that he and Julia were going to look through together. "So you two didn't make off with the Hope Diamond, thank you. As much as I'd love to cover your mom in jewels not that one please."

Giggling Julia said as she hugged her father; Eliza hugging their mother; "Mommy said Grandmama told Grandpapa not to give it to her." She then looked a little unsure and said, "Are we going to go see it with them?"

"And your gram," Beckett told them as she took Eliza's hand. "Since she'll want to see what they have."  
"Definitely," Castle said with a firm nod. "So, where are we going Miss Julia?" He couldn't help laugh when his daughter gave him a look and said, "Have fun with the mummies you two."

"And bones too Daddy," Eliza called out. "Say hi to the dinos!"

"We will," Castle said. He then kissed Beckett briefly on the lips before he walked with Julia to the exhibit. "How was it with your mom?" he asked as they walked into the first room.

"A lot of fun," Julia said. She then said, "Are you ever gonna be… honored?"

"Honored?" Castle asked in surprise.

"Yeah, by the… society," Julia said.

"Oh, the Writer's Society," Castle replied. He wasn't surprised when his daughter nodded and he smiled saying, "I don't know I could be, my friend James Patterson was."

"I remember him," Julia said, since he'd been to the beach house for card parties before. "Can I write to them and tell them to do that?"

"That's okay," Castle said with a slight laugh as they stopped at a fossil of a stegosaurus. "I think I'll wait for them to say. Why did you talk about that?"

"Because we were looking at the Hope Diamond," Julia said before she explained to her father about what she and Beckett had said to each other.

"Ah I wasn't kidding, your mom was made to have gems around her neck," Castle said, looking around them to make sure no one would overhear him. "But if you put too much it'll ruin the effect."

"I'm glad you think that," Julia said. When they moved on she said to her father, "What dinosaur is your favorite," wanting to talk to him then instead of just talking about her time with her mother.

"This one," Castle said, nodding to the t-rex. "Really nice isn't it?"

"Yeah, so tall," Julia said in amazement as they looked up at the fossil. "But I like this one better…"

"Really?" Castle asked as he saw it was a fossil of a velociraptor.

"No," Julia said with a giggle. "That one, the brontosaurus."

"Oh," Castle said since she was indicating a bone from the dinosaur. "Yeah, those are nice too I would love to pet one; since it wouldn't eat me." He smiled when his daughter laughed and then said, "Come on sweetheart, let's look and see who else we can find here at the museum and let's name them."

Smiling Julia said, "Okay," before she let her father take her hand and they continued through the exhibit together doing just that.

"I'm naming this one Petunia," Castle said towards the end of the hall.

"Why?" Julia asked, looking at the fossil of a small dinosaur they were in front of.

"Not sure… it looks like a Petunia though," Castle said, not surprised when his daughter laughed.

"What if it's a boy?" Julia asked, looking up at him.

Castle looked thoughtful at that and then said, "Very good point. Now we have… a special exhibit next."

"What is it?" Julia asked, watching him looking at the map.

"Pictures of ocean life," Castle said. "Want to check it out?"

"We have time?" Julia said. When her father nodded she did so herself saying, "But we should wait to see anything else."

"Agreed," Castle said before he took her hand and they walked over to the next hall, swinging their hands in between them as she started to giggle.

* * *

"Oooh, Mommy look!" Eliza was saying as she pulled Beckett over to a mummy in a display case. "Is it a baby?" she asked her.

"No, a little boy," Beckett said, pointing to a plaque on the bottom. "It says here."

"Does it say a story?" Eliza asked, reading the plaque herself then. "What happened Mommy?"

"I'm not sure sweetie," Beckett replied. She then studied her daughter as she looked at the bones on a display inside and she asked, "This doesn't scare you?"

"No I saw mummies before," Eliza said. She then looked at her mother and asked, "Do they look like that when you go to work?"

Understanding that she meant the victims they investigated Beckett said, "No but you don't need to worry about that."

Shaking her head Eliza said, "I know that you do that Mommy. And it's kay."

"You're sure?" Beckett said, trying not to smile as her daughter was so serious.

"Yeah, it's your job," Eliza said firmly before nodding. She was going to go over to the next display when her mother pulled her in the other direction. "Where are we going Mommy?" she asked.

"There's a little room here," Beckett explained. "I don't want us to miss it before we go over to the next section."

"Oh," Eliza said before she looked at the sarcophagus that they came up to. "Oooh, look Mommy!"

"I see," Beckett replied slightly laughingly. "You like it?"

"Yeah," Eliza said, nodding her head rapidly. "Can I take a picture please?"

Beckett put the strap of her camera around her daughter's neck and helped her set up the shot since Eliza wasn't used to taking pictures vertically. Once it was taken she said, "Want to keep going?"

"Kay," Eliza said though reluctantly. She followed her mother over to the display to the right of the sarcophagus and said, "Look at the dolls."

Smiling Beckett said, "They're figures that they would put into the tombs."

"Cool," Eliza said. She looked up at her mother as she laughed and smiled saying, "Am I funny?"

"You're very sweet," Beckett told her, leaning over and kissing the top of her head. "And I love you Eliza."

"Love you too Mommy," the toddler said before they walked over to the next display. "What is this?"

"These are offerings," Beckett said, pointing to the large words at the top of the display. "This is a jackal, for Anubis."

"This?" Eliza asked, pointing to what looked like a bust.

"It's a baboon mummy," Beckett said. When her daughter's eyes widened she quickly said, "Not really, they made it look like it."

"Good," Eliza said firmly. She then looked at another figure and said, "Is that a kitty?"

"It's like the baboon, it's supposed to look like it's a cat mummy but it's not," Beckett assured her. When they came to the next items she then said, "These are real though."

"What are they?" Eliza asked, peering at the mummies.

"Ibis, a bird that is in Egypt," Beckett said. "You've seen them before at zoos."

"Ooh…" Eliza said.

Beckett thought her daughter might be bothered by that but when she turned to the next exhibit she said, "Sweetie-"

"That's a real kitty mummy?" Eliza asked, looking up at her mother. When she nodded she frowned and said, "Poor kitty."

"Do you want to keep going?" Beckett asked. She was surprised when Eliza kept going down the display and she was quick to answer her questions about the figurines they saw. After they'd finished she said, "I'm still surprised you wanted to see all of this."

"I like the pictures," Eliza said, turning to the sarcophagus.

"Oh," Beckett said with a slight laugh. They then looked at the last display in the room, of a divine bull mummy before she led her back to the display next to the mummy of the little boy. "This is an older mummy," she told her daughter as they looked at it at the bottom.

"Is it a boy or a girl," Eliza asked. But before her mother could answer she then looked over at the side and said, "What's that?"

"The bones?" Beckett said. When her daughter nodded she explained, "Those are your bones here, your pelvis."

"They are different ones," Eliza said. She then guessed, "For boys and girls?" When her mother nodded she asked, "Why Mommy?"

Not ready to tell her daughter the exact reason for that Beckett instead said, "You know that women have babies right?" At Eliza's nod she then said, "The bones have to be different because of that and that's how they could tell this mummy is a man."

Looking down at it again Eliza said, "And the skull too."

"And the skull," Beckett said. "And it says here that they can tell how old he was from the way his spine was. He was around forty they found out."

"Like Daddy is!" Eliza cried out in concern.

"Don't worry," Beckett said quickly, taking her hand. "Back then most people didn't get as old as they do today so your daddy is younger than he was. And he's very healthy too so he'll be alright."

"Kay," Eliza said with a nod before they went to another display. When they'd gone to the last one she turned and said, "Do we get to see the bones now?"

"Yes," Beckett said with a smile. "You know there are animal bones in here," she told her as they walked to the doorway to the beginning of the hall.

"Yeah, look those are rays!" Eliza said, pointing to a display before she let go of her mother's hand and ran to it.

Beckett smiled and then walked after her to it, taking pictures before she followed her to the next one. She heard Eliza gasping and asked, "What is it sweetie?"

"Look at the big fishy! It's big!" the toddler was exclaiming. She giggled and said, "Look at the bones, lots of bones."

"I know but come look at this one right here," Beckett told her. "Do you remember Nemo?" When Eliza nodded she then said, "When they were in the dark?"

Gasping Eliza said, "The big scary fish!"

"It is," Beckett said. "It's called an anglerfish."

"Anglerrr," Eliza pronounced before her mother laughed softly. She smiled and then said, "Mommy, the light isn't there now is that 'cause it is not bones?"

"That's right," Beckett said as they went over to the other wall. "That was a good guess."

"Was this fishy in the movie?" Eliza asked after she had blushed and giggled a little at her mother's compliment.

"It was, it's a swordfish," Beckett told her. "They were fighting as if they had swords while they were talking about Nemo's dad."

"I remember," Eliza said. She then pretended to use her two index fingers as swords, fighting them against each other before she giggled as her mother hugged her. She looked up at her and held her hands up to her before she was picked up, sharing a kiss with her.

"Can I carry you now?" Beckett told her. She was surprised when her daughter nodded but then carried her past the skeletons of ancient reptiles before Eliza shivered. "What's wrong?" she asked with a smile.

"Snakes!" the toddler said, pointing at the skeletons. She then said as her mother approached the display, "Can you take pictures?"

"Yep," Beckett said, holding up the camera with her other hand. She smiled as her daughter helped her aim and she asked, "Is it a good shot?" At Eliza's nod she took it before going to the next display and then walked over to the one across from them. "Look at all the turtles," she told her daughter.

"Pretty turtles," Eliza said with a giggle. She watched her mother take pictures until they came to some frogs and toads. She mimicked a frog and then said, "Look at this one!" as they came to a leatherback turtle.

"It's very big," Beckett said. When her daughter looked at her she said, "It's time to go meet everyone for lunch."

At first Eliza made a sound of complaint before she cut herself off and then said, "I'm hungry."

Laughing for a moment Beckett said, "I thought you might be once you remembered. But we'll come back here."

"Mommy," Eliza said then before her mother could set her down. When Beckett asked her what was wrong she hugged her tightly and said, "I love you, you are the best mommy ever."

"Thank you sweetie," Beckett told her with a smile as she hugged tightly to her. "And you are the sweetest younger daughter I could have." She wasn't surprised when Eliza giggled and said, "Your sister is the sweetest older daughter."

"What about 'lexis?" the toddler said.

"She's my stepdaughter," Beckett reminded her. "And yes, she's very sweet too."

"Yeah," Eliza said, sharing a smile with her mother as they then made their way to the nearest elevator to go down to the café.

At the same time Castle was standing at the windows to the gift shop with Julia as they waited for everyone else when something came to mind. "Julia?" he asked her.

"Yeah?" the little girl said, turning to him quickly as he was speaking so seriously.

"How was your mom while I was gone?" Castle said.

Thinking about that Julia said, "Mommy's very strong."

"Of course," Castle said, not surprised.

"But she missed you a ton," Julia said firmly. "She was okay but you could see she was sad, in her eyes, 'cause they weren't showing that she was happy like she is when she's with you. You could tell except when she was smiling at us; then she was happy."

"Don't be confused," Castle said quickly as the little girl was at that. "She loves you two… a ton."

"I do love you two," Beckett said as she walked up to the two while Eliza was throwing her arms around her father. "And I see you're hungrier than we are."

Looking over at their daughters who were talking together eagerly Castle looked back at his wife and said with a smile, "You had a good time."

"I did, I think our youngest might enjoy mystery when she grows up," Beckett said. "Either that or she's really unshakeable."

"She had no problems with the mummies?" a voice said behind them. Jim smiled as the others turned to them and when the girls ran to him and Martha he said, "We can talk during lunch all we want but first we need to get lunch."

Though they wanted to tell the others who hadn't been with them about what they'd seen, the girls allowed their family to lead them under a dome where the café was as they both looked up at the structure. It allowed them to forget about their desire to speak and while they were walking together to get a table with their grandparents they spoke about what they wanted to get to see first once they walked through the museum all together.


	25. Been Thinking Of All Day (Part 2)

"Look Mommy and I saw these," Julia said eagerly as she pulled her sister to a tiara and necklace. "See the pretty stones?"

"I see, they are so pretty," Eliza said with a nod. She gasped when she was picked up and then said, "Thank you Daddy," kissing Castle's cheek before she turned her attention back to the jewelry in front of them.

"I'm surprised they enjoy these so much," Jim said with a smile as they walked through the room after the three.

"Why not?" Martha said before she smiled. "They're biased though," she told Jim as he turned to her. "They far prefer their mother's pendant that their father gave her."

"She's right," Beckett said before calling her husband's name. "In here," she told him.

"Oh, she's right," Castle said. He pretended to start running as Eliza laughed softly but walked over to his wife saying, "I need to hold her."

"You do," Julia said before Beckett could say anything.

"There it is," Martha said, looking at Eliza who was the only one of them who hadn't seen the diamond yet. She smiled at the look of awe on the toddler's face, seeing the others were doing the same in reaction as well.

"It's beautiful," Eliza whispered. "And very blue."

"It is," Castle agreed. "But again, no touching."

Giving him a look before she giggled Eliza said, "I can't Daddy. I don't wanna."

As the toddler was reaching out to her Beckett let her touch her aquamarine and she then said, "Let's keep looking around we have more to see and not that much time left."

"She's right, we left that Ocean Hall for last like your grandparents told us to," Castle said. "But we're going to go right after this one." He set Eliza down so she could walk with her sister back into the room with the gems before they started to walk through the rest of the exhibit together as he held Beckett's hand tightly while they followed their daughters.

After finishing the Geology, Gems and Minerals exhibit the family went downstairs to the Ocean Hall where they came first to some skulls of ocean animals. The girls looked at them closely before they turned to the giant shark jaws that were next to them.

"What is it?" Eliza asked her sister.

"A Great White Shark," Julia said. "Those are big and scary too."

"Yeah, look at all the teeth!" Eliza exclaimed.

"Girls, come around here to this side," Martha then said, ushering her granddaughters. "Jim and your mother are going to take pictures."

"So will I," Castle said. "So I can send it to Alexis."

"She can't talk today," Eliza said then.

Castle was a little surprised but took the picture with his phone and as they were walking to the next section he said, "She told you?"

"She called us before we left," Julia answered. "And said she can talk tomorrow, today she's going out with Louis to the manor."

"For the weekend?" Beckett asked. When her daughter nodded she smiled at her husband and said, "She deserves the chance to relax."

"She does," Castle said in agreement quickly. "Hopefully she'll have fun." He felt someone tugging on his hand and looking at Eliza said, "These are animals that aren't here anymore."

"No, those," the toddler replied, pointing to the display across from the one filled with fossils. "I can't read it Daddy."

"They're trilobites," Castle replied. "Another animal that's not around anymore."

Once they'd looked at the fossils long enough the group walked through more of the hall until they were beneath the large whale that the girls looked up at with their mouths open. After a while they realized that their father was nearly snorting with laughter and they turned to look at him, wondering what was so funny.

"I'm sorry," Castle told them. "You look like the whale right now."

Eliza giggled wildly and said, "What whale is it?"

"A North Atlantic Right Whale," Jim told them. "It's a replica of a real one they named Phoenix."

"Pretty," Eliza said.

"She's right, it is," Julia said. "And really big."

"Let's keep going," Beckett told the two, putting her hands on their shoulders. "We have more to see."

Though the girls didn't want to stop looking at the replica they followed their family over to the next display. They walked with their father through most of the hall, not even realizing they were doing so. It was only when they came to an aquarium with fish from a coral reef that they left him, rushing up to it to look at everything in the water.

"I was a little surprised they didn't have more of these," Martha told her daughter in law as they watched Jim and Castle with the girls ahead of them.

"Well, it's more science than an aquarium," Beckett said. "But I don't think they minded that."

"No," Martha said with a smile. "So how are you and my son doing?"

Beckett smiled then herself at that question before she said, "Good, now that we're together again."

"I'm glad to hear that," Martha said. She watched her go over to Castle and realized she wasn't kidding, the way the couple's hands immediately entwined a good indication of that. She let Eliza then take her hand before they continued together to another display and soon they were entering the rotunda again.

"Is that it?" Julia asked in disappointment.

"We've been here for a while," Castle said, trying not to laugh at Eliza trying to go back into the Ocean Hall though her grandmother was holding onto her hand tightly. "And we were going to try to take you to the Tidal Basin before we go to dinner."

Looking at one another Eliza nodded to Julia who turned to their parents and said for them both, "We'll go. But first we can go to the gift shop right?"

"We can," Beckett said, taking her hand. As they were walking she was surprised when Eliza ran up to her, grabbing her free hand so she took them both into the store, smiling back at her husband who was following them before they began to look at what was there for sale.

* * *

"You're not too cold up there?" Castle asked Eliza after he'd put her up on his shoulders.

"No Daddy but I don't wanna go," the toddler replied.

"We don't have anything to give the ducks," Beckett pointed out to the toddler. "So you're going to have to let them get dinner somewhere else."

"Oh… kay," Eliza said with a sigh.

As they were walking down the path Julia said, "Are we going to the dinner now?"

"We are," Beckett said. "If you don't want to we could eat at the hotel."

"No, I do want to go," Julia said earnestly. "I want to meet your friend." She then looked confused before she said, "What do I call him?"

"He'll probably tell you to call him Patrick," Beckett said.

"And so you know," Castle then spoke up as they were nearing the street. "They're calling us Maddy's aunt and uncle."

"Are they our uncles?" Eliza asked then.

"I think they are," Beckett said as Castle looked over at her to answer that. She took Eliza from him before he called a taxi van for them and once they were inside she watched the girls looking around at what they were passing outside with a smile.

"Is this their house?" Julia asked in surprise once they'd stopped in front of it.

"It is," Beckett said, helping Eliza out as Castle was paying for the ride. She held the toddler's hand tightly as she tried to pull away from her to go up to the house.

"Why are you so excited?" Jim asked the toddler.

"I wanna meet Maddy," Eliza said firmly. "Is she my cousin too?"

"She is," Castle said as the cab pulled away then. He went with Beckett and the girls up the path to the house and rang the doorbell before the door was being opened almost immediately.

"Hey," Darnley said in the doorway. He smiled at the girls and said then to Beckett, "I'm so glad you made it, everyone's here already." He stepped aside and said once everyone was inside, "So these are your girls."

"This is Julia," Beckett said. "And this is Eliza," she added though she was trying to get the toddler out from around her where she was hiding.

"Do you guys remember me at all?" Darnley asked, smiling at Eliza.

"Yeah," the toddler said shyly.

"I do," Julia said though she was feeling a little shy herself.

"Your mom told me a lot about you," Darnley said. "And your dad too."

"We wanted to meet you," Julia then said as she saw Eliza was coming out from behind their mother. "Our mom told us about you too."

"Did she? I hope she was nice about me," Darnley said, looking over at Eliza as he spoke.

The toddler looked at him and said shyly, "She says you were friends."

"Then she was nice," Darnley said. "I hope you'll want to meet my little girl, I know she wants to meet you."

There Eliza lost the last of her shyness, looking at her sister she could see that she had too, and she said quickly as she stepped around her mother, "Does she talk?"

"A little but she'll love getting to play with you if you want to," Darnley assured her. "Jim, it's great to see you again," he said, walking over to Beckett's father.

"Likewise," he said with a smile as they shook hands. "I was glad to hear you were doing so well from Katie."

"The same for me when she told me about how you were," Darnley said. He then turned to Castle's mother and said, "Mrs. Rodgers?"

"Martha is fine," she said with a smile, waving her hand slightly. "The girls weren't kidding; Kate has told us a lot about you so I've been looking forward to meeting you."

"Same for me," Darnley said before he heard steps behind him. "Okay, so now you can meet my family. This is my husband Trevor Nkosi and this is our daughter Maddy."

"Hello," Nkosi said, shaking Martha's hand before doing the same to Jim. He was surprised when his daughter started to cry out and looked down with the others to see that Eliza had run up to him, waving at the baby. "Would you like to hold her hand?" he asked.

"Okay," the toddler said, a little confused. But when he put the baby down she understood as she nearly fell before she held her hand.

Julia hurried over to them to grab the baby's other hand and said, "Can we play with her?"

"Just a moment," Nkosi said, sharing a smile with his husband.

Watching as the man went to the kitchen Castle greeted Nkosi's parents before Skye and Mary were following them. "There you are, we were starting to think that Patrick was lying," he said to the latter couple.

"We wanted to make sure you guys could say hello first," Skye said, shaking Jim's hand once Nkosi had introduced his parents and they'd shaken the man's hand.

"Okay, we're all introduced where we need to be right?" Darnley asked.

"We are, let them play," Beckett said.

"We'll watch them," Darnley said. "Go ahead and help yourselves to drinks."

"I'll get you something love," Castle told his wife before he followed the others to the kitchen.

Inside the family room Eliza saw the play kitchen that was in the corner and said, "Want to play that?"

"Hi," Maddy said, looking closely up at her.

Giggling Eliza said to her mother, "Does that mean yes?"

"It does," Darnley assured her. "Go ahead and play, just watch she doesn't put everything into her mouth." Watching their daughters going over to the set he said to Beckett softly, "Your daughters are so cute."

"I told you yours is too right?" Beckett asked him. When he nodded she squeezed his arm companionably and then said, "I never thought this would happen."

"Me neither," Darnley said. He then laughed; getting the attention of Julia and Eliza; and said, "Remember we imagined play dates."

"For you?" Julia couldn't help asking.

Smiling as her friend was laughing again Beckett told her, "No, we imagined what we'd do if we had kids." She then laughed herself and said, "Remember those 'plans' we made."

"What did you say?" Eliza asked.

"They were just our imaginations," Darnley told her, smiling at her speaking to him directly without his daughter being mentioned. He guessed it was because it involved her mother but didn't care that was the reason. "We said we'd move into really nice apartments across from each other so we could go out on our morning runs," he began, looking at Beckett.

"Want to go and listen to them?" Julia was asking Maddy. When the baby reached up to her she picked her up, surprised at how light she was still.

"Oh, here," Darnley said when he and Beckett looked at the three. He took his daughter and was startled when she whined, "Dada!" before he let her sit with Eliza and Julia who were to his left since that was where the only space was left to sit. "Looks like she made friends with you fast," he couldn't help comment.

"Yeah, can we hear more of the story?" Julia asked hopefully.

"Yes," Beckett said. "So we were going to live across the hall from one another."

"Our husbands would be gorgeous," Darnley added.

Beckett was going to continue but she and her friend started to laugh together before she calmed down. "That was what you'd always say. And we would have kids-" she started to say.

"How many?" Eliza asked.

"I would have two or three," Beckett said, smiling at her friend. "And he would adopt two sets of twins."

"I liked the idea of twins," Darnley said with a smile. "And we would be partners."

"Not you and Daddy?" Eliza said, looking shocked.

"I didn't know your daddy then," Beckett reminded her.

"It didn't come true," Darnley said. "But we're really glad we've gotten back in touch with each other again. And I don't know about you Kate but I am very happy with my children."

"But you just have Maddy," Julia said, sounding confused.

Smiling Darnley got up and went over to the table that had frames on it and picked up one before coming back to them. "That's Keo," he told the two. "We're trying to finish adopting him."

"He's cute," Eliza said, smiling at the baby. She then frowned and said, "Does Maddy know?"

"We made sure we told her," Darnley said. "Show her the picture," he said to Julia who was holding it. "Who's that honey?"

"Bo-ter!" Maddy said, patting the side of the frame.

"She knows he's her brother," Julia said with a smile at her sister. "Are you still going to talk to our mom?"

"As much as I can," Darnley told her seriously. He smiled at his friend and said, "We'll see each other still, if you guys don't mind seeing us again."

"I don't," Eliza said firmly. When Darnley smiled at her she blushed and said, "You are my mommy's friend," in explanation.

"I am," Darnley said.

"Mind if we come in?" Martha asked. "Dinner's nearly ready but we're in the way of everyone working on it."  
"Go and play with your friends," Darnley said to his daughter though he was talking to the girls as well. He took the glass handed to him by his husband, surprised to see him and said, "Your parents?"

"They are getting Maddy's food ready now," Nkosi replied as he sat next to his husband and Castle sat with his wife. "How are they doing?"

"They're friends already," Castle answered before Darnley or his wife could. When everyone looked at him he nodded to the kitchen set and told them, "Just watch them."

"You have to put the pot there," Eliza was saying to Maddy seriously. "Don't burn your hand," she said as the baby was setting the toy pot down.

"Eat, eat," Maddy was chanting then, not aware of the others laughing softly as Eliza started to do the same.

"How was your day with her?" Beckett asked her friend and Nkosi.

"Fun, very fun," Darnley said. He smiled when she looked at him questioningly before he continued saying, "We'll tell you about it at dinner… or after if it spills over to that."

"We want to hear about your day first," Nkosi said before he looked behind him at the doorway. "During dinner which we can have now."

"Come and eat," Darnley told everyone. "And that includes you honey," he said to Maddy who he went to, picking her up.

"Did you have fun?" Castle asked the girls as they went to the bathroom to help them wash their hands.

"Yeah, we can play more right?" Julia asked, her sister looking back at them hopefully.

"You can," Beckett said with a smile. After they were all ready she took Julia by the hand and they walked over to the dining room where the table was extended as there were so many of them. "Oh… you made something South African right?" she asked, seeing all their plates had a large sandwich on them; Julia and Eliza's sandwiches slightly smaller.

"They're called Gatsby sandwiches," Nkosi explained. "They're all over Cape Town and we'll eat these when we go there. But my parents modified them. Instead of a spicy sauce they used thousand island as my father loves it."

"It tastes very nice with the chicken," Joseph said with a nod.

"There are fries in my sammich!" Eliza exclaimed then when there was a pause.

Laughing slightly Bethany told her, "That is how they are. You will enjoy them there I'm sure. Please, eat and see if you do."

After he'd eaten his first bite Castle looked at his sandwich before he said quickly to the Nkosis, "This is amazing. You should open a shop and sell these here."

Laughing softly Bethany said, "I am glad you enjoy it but we're happy to enjoy our retirement with our granddaughter."

After everyone had assured his in laws that they enjoyed the sandwiches as well Darnley asked the girls, "Tell us how things went for you today. What did you get to see?"

"A big mall," Eliza said first eagerly.

"The Mall," Beckett corrected with a smile. "We showed them the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial."

"They were really nice," Julia said. "I like the memorial a lot, the pool was nice."

"Yeah, that's a great view from the top of the steps," Darnley said, nodding his head.

"Was that all you did?" Nkosi asked, smiling at the girls.

"No, we went to a museum," Eliza said, feeling comfortable with the man though she hadn't spent much time with him. "A big one."

"Yeah it was huge," Julia added. "There were gems and jewelry, animals, rocks and… everything!" She laughed softly as the others did as well and she said, "There were tons of things to see."

"Did you go to see them too?" Eliza then asked Maddy as she was sitting next to the baby who was in her high chair eating some food off a plate.

"We've taken her," Darnley answered. "And she's enjoyed it herself, the animals the most. What about you two?"

"The jewelry," Julia said first.

"The butterflies," Eliza said. Then she looked thoughtful and said, "And mummies… and bones and-"

"A lot," Julia said, interrupting her sister.

"We did a lot of walking," Beckett said, smiling at the girls. "And after we stopped at the gift shop-"

"Did you grab anything?" Darnley interrupted.

"They bought some adorable horse figurines," Martha answered before her son or daughter in law could. "A set of six that we're going to be taking too."

"We have seen those," Bethany said. "And you like horses?"

"They do," Jim said with a smile. "So of course that was a perfect purchase."

"You didn't get anything yourselves?" Nkosi said to the girls.

Shaking her head Eliza said first, "No, we wanted the horsies."

"That sounds about right," Skye said, smiling across the table at her friends who were doing the same.

"You're definitely like your mother," Darnley said, smiling at Beckett.

"Do you have a story about that?" Julia asked interestedly.

"I do," Darnley said slowly.

"Go ahead," Beckett said with a smile. "I don't think I could really stop you anyway."

"Not really," Darnley said before looking at everyone. "We were on one of our morning runs through Central Park together when we saw a group with horses off the path." He then laughed slightly and said, "I can still remember Kate zooming off the path to them since they'd stopped riding and I guess taking a break…?"

Since he was looking at her when he stopped Beckett said, "I think they were learning something, I don't recall."

"But she slowed down before them," Darnley continued. "And she pet a couple of the horses standing together."

"You didn't ride?" Julia asked.

"We couldn't, we hadn't paid to do that," Beckett reminded her daughter. "But they were very nice to let us pet them."

"My first time petting a horse," Darnley said.

"And you were as scared as a baby," Beckett said teasingly.

"Yep," Darnley said unabashedly before he laughed with her. "After that we talked about her love of horses and I can't believe I didn't ask. Do you have horses now?"

"She does, so does Daddy," Eliza said quickly.

"Great," Darnley said with a nod. "What about that motorcycle?"

"I sold it," Beckett said. When her friend slightly raised his eyebrows to show his surprise she explained, "I didn't ride it much as time went on… or much at all honestly."

"I rode with her once," Castle said then. When Darnley looked at him he said, "Did she never take passengers?"

"We went a couple times," the detective said. "Usually to get out of the city but not that often. How was it when you went?"

"Great," Castle said.

Beckett smiled and then said, "I can tell you the story, if everyone wants to hear." She was surprised when Maddy exclaimed but then realized that the baby was just reacting to everyone telling her to start. Beginning her story she couldn't help recall the one time she and Castle had gone together on her bike, when her father had been at the house to watch the girls the spring after Eliza's second birthday.

* * *

 _"So you're sure I won't suddenly fall off of this?" Castle asked his wife as he climbed on the back._

 _"Unless you start twisting back and forth, then no," Beckett replied smiling as she tapped his helmet with the palm of her hand. "Good?"_

 _"Gah… what?" Castle asked, mimicking she'd hurt his ears._

 _Beckett shook her head, though she was still smiling, and she then climbed on in front of him. After she'd started the bike she took off out of the driveway and to the street where she went to the first one that would lead them to the highway along the beach. She was surprised to feel that her husband was very relaxed behind her in the way he held onto her but she didn't really want to try and speak as she knew it would be difficult. It wasn't until they'd stopped on a beach that was empty that she said, "Have you done this before?"_

 _"No but I trust you love," Castle told her seriously as he got off. He waited for her to put the kickstand down before he followed her to the beach after their helmets were off. "So this was what you did in the city," he commented._

 _"It wasn't," Beckett said, shaking her head. "I got around on it and only had a few chances to leave the city."  
"You can go out more now," Castle pointed out to her. "Like I keep telling you I'll watch the girls."_

 _"I'll see," Beckett replied before they stopped just before the breaking waves. She sat down with her husband and asked him, "Would you want to learn?"_

 _"No thanks," Castle said honestly. "I'll stick to horses."_

 _"Alright," Beckett said with a laugh. She looked back at her bike before she then looked at her husband and leaned over to him, kissing him as hard as she could._

 _Castle was a little startled by the ferocity of that kiss but eventually got used to it and kissed her back. When they parted he murmured, "I love you."_

 _"I love you too," Beckett replied before their lips met yet again. She wrapped her arms around him and let him lay her down on the sand, forgetting everything but her husband willingly._

* * *

"Look at that, you get to go ahead two blue spaces," Julia was telling Maddy. It was well after dinner and she and her little sister were playing with the baby while the adults were watching them and talking together.

"I am wondering," Nkosi said, entering the room after he'd left to take his empty mug of coffee to the kitchen.

"Gee! Gee Tata!" Maddy cried. When she saw that her father was going to Skye she said, "Skee, skee!"

"Skee?" Castle asked.

"Give her some time," Mary said. "The y will come to her soon. Oh, me as well?" she then asked as Nkosi went back out before instantly returning with a second acoustic guitar that he handed to her.

"If you'd like," Darnley said.

"And your game girls?" Skye asked the three as they hurried to one of their parents. When they just looked at her and her wife she laughed and then leaned over to Mary, whispering to her before they nodded. "This is a song of Paul's," she said. "Though he only ever recorded a demo of it, it went to the Everly Brothers." When Julia looked like she was trying to recall she told her, "Don't worry, the second I play you'll know." She then began to strum her guitar before her wife joined in and together they began to sing in a duet.

 _When I love  
I get a feeling like I'm traveling through the sky  
On the wings of a nightingale_

 _As I ride  
My head is reeling but I don't even wonder why  
On the wings of a nightingale_

 _High above land and sea  
I'll be thinking of you and me  
Couldn't ask for a better place to be_

 _So hold my hand  
I've got a feeling that the journey has just begun  
On the wings of a nightingale_

 _And if you like  
We'll fly together to the land of eternal sun  
On the wings of a nightingale_

 _High above land and sea  
I'll be thinking of you and me  
Couldn't ask for a better place to be_

 _Oh, I can feel something happening  
Oh, I can feel something happening  
Oh, I can feel something happening to me_

 _When I love  
I get the feeling that I'm traveling through the sky  
On the wings of a nightingale  
On the wings of a nightingale  
On the wings of a nightingale, ah  
On the wings of a nightingale_

With a final flourish of her hand over the stings Skye sang the last line with Mary until they stopped and nodded to the others who clapped. "So, the game?" she said to the girls.

"Play more songs!" Eliza said. "See, she wants more songs too," she said, pointing to Maddy who was nodding her head.

"One more," Skye said with a smile. "And then we'll say goodnight as we have a busy day tomorrow."

Though the girls were protesting that Beckett and Castle calmed their daughters down so Skye could sing as they held them and listened to the show tune they all knew through Julia's listening to it. It became apparent that even Nkosi's parents knew it since they were nodding their heads in time as well and they smiled at each other in the enjoyment of their night back with their family and with their friends as well.

* * *

Humming the music of the first song that she had heard that night Eliza looked up at her mother and said, "Mommy, why does Jules go in the shower?"

"Because she's getting to be a big girl," Beckett said, having the toddler stand up. "And she's a little shy now."

"Mommy," Julia protested as she came out of the shower wrapped up in a towel though she laughed. She'd joked about being shy with her mother and sister before stepping into the large shower in her and her grandfather's side of the suite. "Is that why you don't bathe with us?"

"Yeah, you can go in the bath Mommy," Eliza told her quickly.

"That's alright, your daddy would be very lonely if I didn't go with him," Beckett replied. "So do you mind if I join him instead?" She smiled when the two shook their heads no immediately and she quickly dried the toddler off before they were both dressed. She went to the door and called to her husband so he could help Eliza finish getting ready for bed.

"So what did you two think of your first day in your country's capital?" Castle asked once he was inside the bathroom with them.

"I had fun!" Eliza exclaimed as her father was brushing her hair.

"Me too," Julia said in agreement. "I can't wait to see what's next. But the best part was to get to see you again."

"I'll agree with you about that," Castle said firmly.

"What about Maddy? And Patrick?" Eliza asked before she had to brush her teeth.

"We'll see them again, we promise," Beckett said.

As soon as she'd rinsed out her mouth Julia asked, "What about Skye and Mary?"

Not surprised she'd asked Beckett told her, "Tomorrow we're meeting them at the next museum we're going to. But first will be the White House."

"Ooh, I can't wait," Julia said. Since she and her sister were ready then they walked ahead of their parents out to the bedroom where Martha was sitting on the desk chair and Jim was on the end of what was going to be his bed, the two having been waiting for them to finish getting ready.

"Mommy," Eliza said with a yawn as her mother set her down on the bed she and Martha were going to share. "Can I play with Maddy again?"

"You had fun with her huh?" Beckett asked with a smile.

"She's my friend now," Eliza said, nodding her head.

"We'll go back," Castle said. "The day before we leave so you can play with her then.

"Say goodnight to her," Beckett told the others. "She needs her rest."

"I'll be going to bed soon myself darling," Martha said, sitting next to her first. "We all need to sleep tomorrow will be very busy." She hugged the toddler and then kissed her saying, "I love you Eliza, sweet dreams."

"Love you Gram," she said sleepily, rubbing at her eye. She looked at her grandfather when he sat next to her and she hugged him quickly saying, "I love you too Grandpapa."

"Love you Eliza, see you tomorrow morning," Jim said.

After Julia had quickly hugged her sister goodnight Castle sat next to Eliza and hugged her quickly saying, "Goodnight sweetheart, I love you."

"Love you Daddy," the toddler said before they shared a kiss. She yawned again and nearly would have fallen back on the bed asleep if her mother hadn't gathered her up in her arms. "Love you Mommy," she mumbled to her.

"I love you too sweetie," Beckett said. She murmured a goodnight then as Eliza was pressing against her, sleeping, and she smiled before laying her down. After she had tucked her in she followed the others out to the living room saying, "We're going to put Julia to bed now."

"But Mommy," the little girl started to say in response. But she stopped when her mother just looked at her and she smiled saying, "We stayed up late?"

"It is your vacation," Castle commented.

"Here, goodnight darling," Martha said, taking her granddaughter into her arms. "We'll see you in the morning."

"I'll try not to wake you up," Julia said jokingly. "I love you Gram."

"I love you too," Martha said with a smile before sharing a quick kiss with her and letting her go to Beckett's father.

"I love you too Grandpapa," Julia told him.

"I'll be in soon to sleep myself," Jim said with a slight smile as they hugged tightly. "But I love you Julia and are you sure you don't mind sharing the room with me?"

"No," Julia said firmly, smiling at him widely. "Do you?"

"Of course not," Jim replied in the same tone of voice. He hugged her tightly again before he then said, "Sweet dreams Julia."

Nodding Julia shared a quick kiss with him before she went with her parents into the bedroom where she said, "No chance for a story?"

"Not tonight," Castle said. "You said earlier we let you stay up late."

"'Cause it's vacation!" Julia pretended to protest before she giggled as she got up on the bed. She then said, "Is it weird I don't want to take a bath with Eliza anymore? Or is it just mean?"

"Neither, you are growing up," Castle said. "We just let you take baths together since it was easier and of course your sister enjoyed getting to play with you sometimes. We might still do that actually since it's quicker; but just when we need to."

"If you're worried about what Eliza thinks you don't need to," Beckett said as they watched their oldest climb up on the bed. "She knows that eventually she's going to have the bath to herself."

"It's funny she liked Maddy so much," Julia said. She then looked up at her mother and asked with a smile, "Do you know why?"

"No, do you?" Beckett asked in surprise, realizing that her daughter did.

Nodding Julia said, "After we saw her that one time when we talked to you at Patrick's house she said she was gonna be friends with her like you were with him."

"Is she forcing herself to do that? Maddy's a little bit younger than her," Castle said.

"No she said she really liked playing with her," Julia assured them. "But can she be friends with her? We live so far away from them."

"We might talk via Skype," Beckett told her. "So we'll see them then of course."

"Oh… good," Julia said. She watched as her parents switched places and sighed saying, "I can't ask something else can I."

"No," Castle said firmly, sitting next to her. He hugged her tightly before he then said, "Get some rest and we'll see a lot of great stuff tomorrow okay?" When the little girl nodded he then said, "I love you Julia, so happy to see you again."

"I'm happy to see you too Daddy! So happy!" Julia told him eagerly as she hugged him tightly. "And I love you too. But know what?" She smiled when her father shook his head and then said, "I'm happier you're with Mommy now."

"It's a tie," Castle said, knowing that the little girl's look at him meant he was supposed to say himself. "For now sweet dreams."

"Sweetie," Beckett said as she sat next to her then. "You know your daddy loves all of us, it's a little unfair to ask him a question like that."

"But he should be happier to be with you; he knew you first," Julia insisted.

"She's right," Castle admitted. "But I still love you and your sister."

"We know," Julia said firmly. She then turned back to her mother and hugged her as tightly as she could saying, "I love you Mommy, I'm happy to see you too."

"So am I," Beckett said before she shared a kiss with her. "And I love you too." She hugged her a little tighter before saying, "Sweet dreams Julia."

"You too Mommy," the little girl told her. She laid down then and watched her mother tuck her in before her parents went to the doorway. When they left her, closing the door behind them she smiled and then turned onto her side before closing her eyes to sleep.

"She's set," Beckett said, going to her father. She hugged him briefly before asking, "How are you?"

"I'm fine, I wanted the chance to see the city with them," Jim said. "So I made sure I finished the paperwork I had left to be able to come with them."

Nodding as she could tell he was being serious Beckett said, "We'll see you in the morning for breakfast."

"At your room?" Martha asked as she embraced her once she'd come over to her.

"We have more than enough space," Castle said.

"Come at eight," Beckett replied. At her mother in law's surprised look she explained, "Our tour is at nine so we need to get going as soon as we can."

"We're walking again?" Martha said. At the nod of the two she smiled and then said, "We'll have them over in time. Goodnight you two."

Saying goodnight to them Castle took his wife's hand before they walked out into the hall and down to their room where he let her go. With their outer layers put away he and Beckett got ready for bed and he watched her whenever he could do so, unabashedly ogling her body as she was nearly naked before she pulled on her pajamas.

"We haven't had too much time alone together," Beckett said as they went to the bathroom to brush their teeth.

Castle waited to reply to that after he'd finished and said, "It's a shock, since it was of course just us. But I wouldn't have changed today, it was great."

"I thought you were going to say awesome," Beckett said in amusement as she dried off her face. She grabbed some of the cherry blossom lotion and rubbed her hands together as she followed her husband out to the bed. "Are you tired?" she asked.

"A little," Castle told her with a quick nod. "I mean I don't think I can fall asleep right this second but we were… strenuous last night. The night before too."

Beckett smiled and said, "That's how I'm feeling too." She climbed up on the bed with him then but not before she grabbed his journal. "I'm on the one before you were drunk," she said with a smile as he looked at her in slight surprise.

"So this one might not be all that interesting," Castle warned her.

Shaking her head Beckett looked down at her husband's handwriting and read, " _I had another signing today. Those seem to have gotten progressively difficult to do without you here with me. Though I thought about it while I was absentmindedly signing, it might not be that fun for you. Which reminds me of something I never really told you about_." There she paused and read inwardly before she looked up at him.

"Yeah, I thought, why not tell you?" Castle said.

At that Beckett turned her attention back to the entry and read again though she started the paragraph from the start.

 _Do you remember when you came to my book signing to get in touch with me about your mother's case again? Before that point I had just been sitting there, making small talk a few times with the people coming up to me but found myself in pretty much the same place as I was just before I killed off Derrick Storm. And I doubted myself, you hadn't called me and I thought that it was over. I was so confrontational with you when you came up to me after because I was in love with you… very deeply even back then and with no word from you I thought I was going to be facing a really unhappy future. Not trying to be dramatic but really I had no idea where I would go next since while I could write Nikki Heat without following you, it didn't mean you didn't provide the inspiration for me. So that's really why I'm always around you, in case you were wondering. Oh, there is also the fact that I love you, as deeply as I did back then._

 _But enough of that, it's a depressing thought as I know I have more signings and tomorrow a party which I'm not looking forward to in the slightest. Anyways, I'm going to talk to you soon so I'll say that I was thinking about you, often. You and the girls. I'm not sure why but my thoughts tended more towards a PG rating… if I was rating them. I imagined you with them, making breakfast and talking and I was so jealous which doesn't really make sense as who am I jealous of? Maybe just the air in the house? Who knows?_

 _One thing that just came to mind I've thanked you for this right? The fact that we have the girls and together we have such a great family? Because if I haven't done so yet I'm doing it now. Okay I should go, I didn't realize the time and you're waiting for me love. I love you for everything you've given me._

"A little sappy," Castle said when Beckett had stopped reading out loud. "But-" he started to say before she was kissing him deeply. He groaned but very quickly recovered and grabbed her, pulling her onto his lap. After they had parted to breathe he ran his hand over the back of her hair and said with a smile, "Not sappy?"

"Not sappy," Beckett said firmly. "I feel the same," she told him after they were silent for a moment. "Especially since I never thought I'd have a family."

"I'm glad to prove you wrong," Castle replied as he kissed the side of her head. "So tomorrow I'm wondering what you want to do with them at night."

Thinking about that Beckett said, "I don't want to eat here… or should we?"

"You're thinking of the pool aren't you?" Castle asked. When his wife nodded he said, "I agree we should definitely stay in and maybe invite Skye and Mary? They are coming over."

"You want them to spend time with Julia so she's aware we won't be upset if she's gay," Beckett stated instead of asking. When her husband nodded she said with a smile, "I do too, I agree."

"Great, I can't wait," Castle said. He then thought of something and said, "What about your dad? He wouldn't mind going?" since his mother would be going out to meet her friends for dinner and a performance at that theater after the museum.

"You know he won't," Beckett replied simply. She tried to get off his lap then but when he wouldn't let her go she glanced at him though there was no surprise when he wouldn't allow her to go to her side of the bed sill. "Rick," she said simply. Before she could wait for a reply from him she found his lips were on hers again and she let herself reply to that, holding him tighter around the neck as they grasped at one another a little frantically eventually.

When he'd pulled himself away from his wife Castle looked at her seriously and asked, "Are you cold?"

Beckett opened her mouth to say no as she was warm after their kiss but she hesitated before she told her husband, "I am." She let him help her underneath the covers and when they were ensconced in them she said, "We're not going to sleep yet are we?"

Shaking his head firmly Castle said, "Not at the moment."

Laughing softly at the expression on his face, Beckett said, " _I love you_ Rick."

" _I love you too_ Kate," Castle said immediately in response to that. " _Always_?"

" _Always_ ," Beckett replied.

As soon as she'd finished speaking Castle kissed her deeply and held Beckett tightly to him as they began to lose themselves in each other. They weren't worrying about sleep for the time being since they couldn't allow themselves to part just yet while they kept one another warm.


	26. Around The Clouds

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: I was very happy as usual to see the feedback for the last chapter so going to get right to my thank yous for those! TORONTOSUN (Great to read that you liked the way Castle was so anxious to see the family at the airport, after how long he was gone I couldn't see him not being so. And yeah, lol, if it's a really good hotel it can definitely be an adventure. And I'm glad seeing them at the museum made you think they were a perfect family, I do try my best to write them pretty good. Couldn't see Castle and Beckett not making sure the girls are safe so glad you noticed that!) and vetgirlmx (I have pleased to read that you thought the last chapter was very good again. And I thought you might enjoy the reunion in this one since you had mentioned you wanted to see it, so was great to see that you enjoyed that. And interesting it surprised you that Jim was thinking more about retiring and moving in but I was glad that you like the idea of him doing that. Also that you love that idea might happen soon! Glad you liked the reunion of Jim and Darnley, but yeah I couldn't see it being more than it was exactly as it didn't fit them in my head. And it was interesting to see your reaction to Eliza with the mummies. I wrote her reaction like that as there are mummies in New York so I figure she would have seen them before, lol, but also she is her parents' daughter as you mentioned. Really glad you liked that Eliza wanted to be friends with Maddy and that's actually what I was doing, half because she was mimicking Beckett and so Beckett would have a reason to stay close with Darnley. And of course really pleased that you enjoyed the flashbacks since I love writing those. Great you can't wait to see what they'll do next and now you don't need to!). Thanks so much for the review, I loved reading them and am very grateful for the time taken to type them out and send them my way!

A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _Learning to Fly_ written by Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne, for the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers album _Into the Great Wide Open_.

Around the Clouds

"Alright I think we're set," Castle said as he walked back inside his and Beckett's room. "We're stuffed and ready to walk right?"

"Yeah I'm ready!" Eliza cried, waving to her father.

"Come here," Beckett said, taking that hand with a smile. She pulled the toddler to where their coats were lined up on the couch and said, "I can take hers right?" directing that to Julia.

The little girl smiled widely and then said, "I took a picture," since she and her sister had set the coats like that while they'd been waiting to eat. "Are you really gonna wear your red coat?" she then asked.

"I am," Beckett said absently while she was helping Eliza into her small navy blue coat. She then realized what her oldest had said and said to her, "You're glad I am?"

"I hope so," Castle said, putting on his own coat as he could tell that Julia was getting hers on fine. "What?" he then asked his wife as he noticed that she was looking at him.

Beckett merely shook her head before she took the scarf that Eliza was holding out to her. Wrapping it around her neck and then tucking it under her coat she said, "Will you be able to put on your gloves once we get downstairs?"

"I think so," the toddler said, nodding her head a few times.

"Thank you," Beckett said, standing back up to get her own scarf on. She looked at Julia; since she was ready; and then looked at her father and Martha.

"Oh we're ready," the latter said to her daughter in law's glance.

"Will you take them?" Beckett asked as Castle was still putting on his scarf. She watched them go and she said, "I thought you preferred the Stella coat you bought me."

Smiling Castle said, "I know they like this one so I was humoring her." He wasn't sure what kind of response he was expecting from his wife but when she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him he decided to go ahead with it, holding her to him as tightly as he could. Though they couldn't last too long he enjoyed it as long as he could before he slowly pulled away from her. "I really hope they started down to the lobby," he told her.

"I doubt it, come on," Beckett told him. She took his hand and they walked swiftly to the elevator where she wasn't surprised to see their family was waiting for them. "Sorry, we had to find his gloves," she said, hoping he had his gloves in his pocket.

"They got a little lost," Castle said, taking Beckett's hand since he saw that the girls were holding their grandparents' hands. He was relieved when no one said anything in response to that and they were soon in the lobby where they paused to get on their gloves since it was still cold even though the day was sunny. He led them over to a taxi van; since they'd decided instead to drive to the landmark; and once everyone was set he said to Beckett, "So Senator Sumner's coming along with us?"

"That reminds me of something I wanted to ask," Jim said, leaning towards the two who were with Julia. "How did you get this tour? You have to apply for one three weeks before don't you?"

"First Skye got us the tour," Castle explained. "Since she knows Senators Pittman and Sumner."

"And because we helped Senator Sumner… to a degree," Beckett said. "He was able to get us a tour into the West Wing."

Looking back at her grandfather as well Julia was surprised to see the way his eyes widened and she asked, "What is it Grandpapa?"

"Not many people get to tour that," Jim said. "Is the President there?"

Shaking her head Beckett said, "Also they assured us it would only be two families there."

Gasping Eliza said, "Will Maddy be there?"

"She will," Beckett said with a smile at the toddler on her grandmother's lap.

"We were going to surprise you but now's as good a time as any," Castle said.

"What about Skye and Mary?" Julia asked.

"They're coming as well; since Skye and Trevor first spoke to…" Beckett said before abruptly trailing off.

"They talked to the man holding the other man… Sumner on the bridge?" Julia filled in for her mother.

"Yes," Castle said. "I'm still not understanding how we got in."

"That was the two of them and Sumner too," Beckett said, knowing he had partially said that for the benefit of their family to hear. "They urged… whoever they talked to, that we were instrumental in solving this case and finding who it was consulting with Metro."

"Well this should be quite a tour," Martha said.

"I wish 'lexis was here," Eliza said then.

"I texted her," Castle said. When the girls both looked at him he smiled and told them, "She said to let you know she's jealous but she's counting on pictures, like crazy, especially from you Julia."

Smiling the little girl couldn't reply to that as they had reached the White House and she stepped out, holding her mother's hand as they waited for the others to get out. "So this is it," Julia said.

"It is. I don't think it's too bad…" Beckett said. She smiled when her daughter wrinkled her nose at her before she felt a smaller hand slip into her other one. "What do you think sweetie?" she asked, directing that to Eliza.

"It's pretty," the toddler replied. She then smiled and said, "And white."

"It is," Castle said with a laugh. "Oh, I think we're all ready aren't we?" he asked as he noticed a group walking over in their direction.

"Hey," Darnley said as Beckett came over to him. He quickly handed Maddy to his husband and hugged her quickly saying, "Not tired?"

Pushing him playfully on the shoulder Beckett said simply, "No, you?"

" _Exhausted_ ," Darnley said.

Surprised that he'd said that in Russian, Beckett then smiled and said teasingly, " _Disgusting_. So you remember that one word."

"I used it a lot," Darnley replied.

Castle, close to them as he'd greeted Nkosi, Maddy and the McDouglases, wondered why they were laughing but made a note in the back of his mind to talk to his wife about that later. At that moment he was shaking Darnley's hand saying, "We're all set to go, just… walk up to the door I guess."

"We're having one tour guide for both tours," Darnley told them as they began to walk. "A member of the Secret Service."

"Really?" Castle asked, not surprised when his wife looked at him as soon as her friend had said that.

"Really, when they do give tours of the West Wing they have someone from there or a staffer," Darnley answered. "So I think we can safely say we're VIPs."

"It sounds like it," Mary said.

When they'd reached the building itself the group was led to security where they were all cleared before a man walked up to Darnley first.

"Detective?" the man asked. When Darnley nodded he then said, "I'm Douglas Topper, your tour guide today. I've been instructed to lead you through on your own."

"Did Senator Sumner ask that?" Darnley asked.

"He requested it," Topper nodded. He then looked at the others and said with a smile, "Can I get your names? Just so I know who to speak to if needed." While they were introducing themselves he passed out badges and then said before leading them to East Colonnade, "You can call me Douglas and if you have any questions please ask." Once they were in the hall he talked about it to them while the group behind was looking around and taking pictures.

"This is awesome," Castle said softly, walking with Beckett, Jim and the girls behind the others.

"Do you want your daddy to take you?" Beckett said then as the toddler was going to them and nearly making them stop.

About to say that she wanted to go with her mother Eliza nodded so her mother could take pictures. Once on her father's hip she said, "Who is that?"

"This is the East Garden Room and here we have a bust of Abraham Lincoln," Topper was saying as they gathered around it. "Do you two know who he was?"

"He has a big statue," Eliza said before looking at her family.

"That's right, down on the Mall," Topper said with a smile. "And now here we have the Center Hall where you'll be able to take a look at some of the rooms we have here."

Walking down that hall Julia looked into the first room, the Vermeil Room, where she took a picture of it very quickly before taking a shot of the hall itself since it was long. She half listened to their guide before she noticed that someone was approaching them. She glanced at her family and seeing she was standing a bit away from them she hurried to her mother, taking her hand and grasping it tightly.

Glancing down at her daughter Beckett looked at the person and then to her husband.

With a simple, brief smile Castle indicated that he knew why the woman was walking to them and watched as their guide turned to see her.

"Are these them?" the woman asked.

"It is," Topper said. "This is Suzie Peretti and she's an aide to the Vice President. Is he here?"

"He's here, he'll see you outside the Oval Office," Peretti replied. She smiled at Castle and Beckett and said, "I'm sorry to bother you, I'm a huge fan of your books. I was wondering if I could get your autograph?"

"Sure," Castle said, seeing Beckett nodding next to him. He took the book that the woman handed to him and then signed it quickly before giving it to his wife. It was then he noticed what book he'd signed and said, "You enjoyed our first one?"

"I did," Peretti replied before Beckett handed her back the tome. She went over to Skye and said, "You're the inspiration for Sky here aren't you?"

Looking over at Castle and Beckett with a smile Skye said, "I was."

"Then could you sign this for me?" Peretti asked. When the investigator took the pen she said, "Thank you, how much of what was in the story is true?"

"Not all of it," Skye said with a slight smile. "Kate and I didn't know each other since we were kids." She then said a your welcome to the woman's second thank you and as they walked over to the China Room she said to Castle and Beckett, "Do you mind that?"

"Was that the first time you've signed our book?" Beckett asked. When the investigator hesitated she smiled and said, "We don't mind."

"Especially since we haven't been out on your coast for almost a year," Castle said.

Skye started to reply to that but they were moving then to the Library where she couldn't help whistle. She smiled when the others looked at her and said, "Any chance to peek in at those books?"

"I'm afraid not," Topper replied. "But I don't blame you for wanting to see them."

"Boo, boo Dada," Maddy was saying then.

"She must love books," Jim said, slightly startled when once he'd finished speaking the baby leaned over to him. Looking at Darnley who smiled and nodded, he took the baby and said, as they went to the staircase, "You know I knew your father a long time ago."

Beckett couldn't help smiling at the way her father was talking to Maddy before they reached the next story and stepped into the East Room. She then thought of the girls and glanced over at them to see their reaction, wondering if they might be jealous at all. But when she saw that they were looking around at the rug and chandeliers she said to her husband, "I thought-"

"So did I," Castle interrupted her. He glanced at the others and said, "Better hurry to take your pictures."

Looking where everyone else was standing Beckett hurriedly did so before they continued on and she and Castle hurried to catch up as they were a little behind them. Glancing at the Green Room she was surprised when her father came over to her and she said, "She's still with you?"

Turning his head briefly to look at the baby who was babbling a little Jim said, "Yes but she asked for you."

"She did?" Beckett asked in surprise.

"I can testify to that," Nkosi said, with a smile as they walked into the Blue Room.

"Rick?" Beckett said.

"Go ahead," Castle said as he took the camera from her. He watched her take the baby and smiled as Maddy beamed at her, wondering what it was about his wife that made babies calmer. Though thinking of that as he then took pictures of the curtains before focusing on the paintings that were hanging he guessed that she was able to be maternal when she needed to easily. Glancing at her after taking a shot of a painting of Thomas Jefferson, he felt a rush of love for her but tried to repress it for the moment as they went into the Red Room.

Talking to the baby as they stepped into the room Beckett smiled as Maddy stared with wide eyes at everything and said, "Do you like the color?"

"Boo," the baby replied.

"That would be red honey," Darnley said, coming over and holding out his arms to his daughter. He was surprised when she shook her head and smiling at Beckett said, "I think she likes you."

"She seems to like everyone," Beckett replied. "Why don't you go to your dad and he'll tell you why he loves the color red too."

"Was your husband aware of how good you are with kids?" Darnley asked as they were walking to the State Dining Room.

"Not until Julia," Beckett whispered softly to him, keeping an eye on her oldest.

"I knew already," Castle then said as he'd been listening to them though they were trying to keep their voices low. "The case with the two year old girl?"

Smiling in remembrance Beckett wanted to comment on the look in his eyes then but Topper was speaking so she held back. But as they began to move on she was stopped when he put his hand on her arm. " _What's wrong_?" she asked him them.

" _Nothing, I love you_ ," Castle said simply as they kept walking after their group.

Looking up at him Beckett smiled briefly before she said, " _I love you too_ ," before she looked at the Cross Hall they they'd come to. "Was that it?" she asked the guide when he stopped.

"Now I'm going to take you over to the West Wing," Topper said with a smile. "First we'll be seeing the Vice President's Hallway."

After making it to that part of the White House the guide spoke about the hall before taking them to have a look at the Navy Mess. As they then walked over to the Situation room Castle and Beckett saw their girls looked surprised to hear about the room and walking to the next one they watched as the two made their way over there.

"Is it a bad room?" Eliza asked the two.

"No," Castle said. "It's just a room where they need to meet for more serious situations."

"I saw a picture of the president before in this room," Julia said as they seemed to be walking a good distance for the next room.

"That was when they were waiting to hear the outcome of a mission," Beckett explained. "But what do you think of this side so far?"

"It's more important," Julia said, her sister nodding rapidly in agreement with her.

"It is," Castle said with a smile before they made their way to a staircase. "Where are we going now?"

"This is the West Colonnade, the President will walk here to the Rose Garden which unfortunately isn't ready to show its flowers yet," Topper was telling them. "And since it's so cold we should head back in," he said as he'd led them outside enough to see the slightly barren garden. "A quick look at the Cabinet Room here, which is where the President meets with his Cabinet," he said as he let them look at the room. "Do you know what that is?" he said to the girls.

"They're people in charge of things like Defense and Transportation," Julia guessed.

"Exactly right," Topper said. "What grade are you in?"

"Fifth," Julia said a little shyly then. "We're learning about American History now."

"That would make sense," Topper said with a smile. "Okay, next is one room you may have heard of," he said as he led the way down the hall.

"Hello," a man said, at the doorway to where the group was being led next. He smiled at them as the guide nodded to them and said, "Detective Darnley?"

"That's me," he said quickly. "Mr. Vice President," he said with a nod before shaking the man's hand.

Hearing a gasp the Vice President smiled at the three children, discerning that it was the toddler before he said to the group at large, "Hello I think you may know who I am but I'm not sure you two would so I am Drew Esten."

"You're important," Eliza said quickly as the tall man was shaking the hands of the adults.

"Well, slightly," Esten replied. He shook Castle's hand and then Beckett's last saying, "I'm glad to be able to meet you two, I've read a number of your books. Thank you for your assistance with the Metro police."

"We were glad to help," Castle said seriously.

"I'm wondering though how it is that you came to help them," Esten said.

"We're friends from the academy in New York," Darnley answered first.

"We also went on patrol a few times together," Beckett added. "Before he moved back home down here."

"I see, thank you for the connection," Esten said. "Do you mind if we take a picture together here in front of the Oval Office? The President would like to release it to the media to laud what you did for the Senator."

Nodding as the others agreed Beckett wasn't surprised to see Castle looking at her slightly startled. She leaned in close to him and whispered, " _We voted for them remember_?"

" _Still_ ," Castle replied though looking at her he could tell that she was being serious. Something came to him then and he said, "Mr. Vice President?"

"You can call me Drew," Esten replied. "Yes?"

"Is there going to be a statement released with the picture?" Castle asked.

Not surprised that the others in the group looked to him Esten answered, "There will be, I'll stress the point that you were here for a tour at the request of Senator Sumner and I surprised you. Here's the photographer."

Standing with his wife and Skye on one side of the man Castle glanced at Darnley and Nkosi on the other and said, "Hopefully we'll all fit."  
"Just stand far back," Esten said jokingly, waving the photographer back.

"I have it sir," the man said in slight laughter. "Ready?" When he had affirmation that they were he counted down and then took a few quick shots before he left to get a picture from the set ready to go.

"Thank you so much for that," Esten told them as he shook all their hands. "I'll let you continue on your tour and I hope you'll enjoy the rest of what you have to see."

After the man had said goodbye to them and walked away Topper allowed them to look inside the Oval Office before he led the way to the rest of the rooms before they reached the point where he escorted them out.

"Thank you so much," Beckett said as she shook the man's hand. "It was a great tour."

"I'm glad to hear that," Topper said. He said goodbye to the three girls and then told them about the Visitor's Center before he left them.

"That was nice," Skye said.

"It was," Mary agreed with her wife. "Thank you so much for this and the Senator."

"We'll mention it to him when we see him tonight," Nkosi said.

"You're having dinner with him?" Beckett asked in surprise.

"And Jodie and Smitten," Darnley said. "I get the feeling this is going to be happening quite a bit from now on."

"Plus my parents and Maddy; they were insistent that she come as well," Nkosi said with a smile.

"Jodie loves her," Darnley let the others know. "So, tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow's the zoo, so yes," Beckett said firmly. She hugged her friend tightly and said, "Have fun."

"We will, I hope you do too," Darnley said. "I think your tour guide for the next place is going to be a good one too."

Laughing Skye said, "Don't suck up Patrick."

"I had to," Darnley said as he hugged her. Once he and his husband had said goodbye to them all he pulled Beckett away from the others and said, "You noticed?"

"How could I not?" she said with a smile. "That was an interesting look."

"I think we should go and you might need to help out your husband," Darnley said, laughter in his voice.

"See you tomorrow," Beckett said, glancing over at Castle. She hugged him quickly before walking rapidly back to her husband saying, "Girls," in a slightly warning tone.

"They're telling me what they're hungry for to have at lunch," Castle told his wife as the girls stopped chattering excitedly as they squeezed his hands tightly in their excitement.

"We'll go right now," Beckett said. "And I'm not surprised you're hungry, we were there for a while but it's a little early. Don't you want to see some planes first?"

Laughing when both girls looked to her Skye said, "I suppose that's a bit of a hint for me?"

"I think it is," Mary supplied. She was surprised when the girls went to her wife and looked at Castle and Beckett who merely shrugged at her. Following after Skye she called a cab while Castle was doing the same and then said, "How are we going?"

"Can they come with us?" Skye asked, nodding down to the two girls.

"Of course," Beckett said as Julia and Eliza looked at her hopefully. "And your daddy can say too."

"Let's go," Skye said, unable to help laughing. She got into the back first before Julia sat next to her and once they were on the way she said, "To let you two know, the space part I don't really know too much about."

"Daddy will know," Eliza commented then.

"I'm not surprised," Mary said. "But I think you two will enjoy this a lot."

"Did Marie and Kath see this place?" Julia asked.

"They did," Skye said with a smile. "And they loved it, Marie especially."

"She said she wants to fly," Eliza replied.

"She does but she's a little too young to fly just yet," Skye said.

"Oh, she's flown already," Mary said wryly. She saw the confused looks on the girls' faces but they were pulling up to the Mall and she had to wait until she was outside with them to speak to them, "Her mother lets her fly in her plane when she thinks I don't notice."

"I've got my hands the controls _grá_ ," Skye said as she walked over to them. "I never let her fly solo."

"Who? Mary? I didn't know you knew how to fly," Castle said jokingly.

With that the group walked around to the entrance of the museum where Skye and Mary paid for their admission, ignoring the protests of Castle and Beckett. Turning to them the former said, "Calm down you're having us over tomorrow your treat to the zoo, this is only fair. So we'll hear no more about this. We'll have more of this." She nodded to their daughters who were looking at the space capsules on display there before she said, "First though, something out of this world…" leading them over to where a few kids were looking at a display.

"What is it?" Eliza asked her parents.

"No, don't look at me," Skye said with a smile as the toddler turned to her. "This is something your dad would be better to ask."

"It's a rock from the moon," Castle said.

Beckett tried not to laugh when Eliza's eyes went wide, looking up at the ceiling and just managed to get herself under control before she said, "Sweetie, you know you can touch it."

"I can?" Eliza said.

"Come on," Julia said, grabbing her sister's hand and pulling her over to the triangular stone.

"It says this is nearly four billion years old," Jim said, reading from a pamphlet they'd been given with the map.

"Wow," Eliza said in amazement. She reluctantly got out of the way of her sister as she then took a pictures and then said to her mother, "Are you gonna touch too?"

"I will," Beckett replied. Once Julia had finished she ran her fingers over the slight texture on the rock and smiled as her husband did the same. She was going to ask him if he'd done that before when Julia hurried ahead of them to a command module. "Which one is this?" she asked him instead.

"For Apollo 11," Castle answered. He looked at Eliza who was turned to him and he explained, "This is what the astronauts traveled in to go to the moon; this one was part of the first mission to make it to the moon."

"Wow," Eliza said before she giggled. "I said it again Daddy."

"I know but it makes sense," Castle replied, hugging her slightly. "What do you think Julia?" he then asked the little girl who was walking around the module with her mother.

"Did it get on fire when it came back to Earth?" Julia asked, not surprised her little sister looked started.

"Oh of course," Martha said before anyone else could. She then smiled and quickly corrected herself saying, "It didn't catch on fire but it got very hot. I remember waiting to hear if they'd made it through the atmosphere."

"You remember when they walked on the moon?" Julia asked.

"Did you see?" Eliza asked in a rush before her grandmother could answer.

"I did watch it on TV," Martha replied with a smile. "I was at home with my parents and brother and we were all amazed at what we were watching."

Beckett was surprised for a moment before she recalled that her husband's grandparents had passed away just before his mother had become pregnant with him. She then said to her father, "I think you should tell them about your experience Dad."

"It was the same," Jim said. He then smiled and said, "Except I was watching it at a moon landing party my friend Tony was holding; it was that and going away to college since we were going to be leaving soon after that. And your grandmama was there."

"She saw it too?" Eliza asked as they walked around the entry to look at the other items there.

"She did, we talked for a long time about how strange it was to think those men were up there on their own," Jim said with a smile as Eliza took his hand.

"What's next?" Julia asked Skye eagerly.

"Again, not my area of expertise," the investigator replied with a smile.

"This room is called Space Race," Castle said, not surprised when the little girl looked over at him. "Which is when we were trying to get to space and the moon before the Russians, or the Soviet Union as it was called then."

Nodding Julia walked around the room before they came to two space ships connected together in the middle. "Daddy?" she asked him.

"I might be able to tell you a little about this," Jim said, looking at his son in law. When Castle nodded briefly he turned to his granddaughters and said, "This is the Apollo-Soyuz test, where we docked with this Soviet Union craft in 1975. It was very tricky because they thought that there might be a problem with the way the two were spinning in space."

When he stopped there Eliza turned to Julia and said, "Do you know why?"

Smiling the little girl looked up at the two ships and furrowed her brow in thought for a bit before she then guessed, "Is it because they might spin too fast and not stop?"

"Right luckily though they trained the astronauts for that and they did alright," Jim said.

"So they don't spin?" Eliza asked.

"Not very fast," Jim assured her. "They of course rotated because that's what the ships did. But not like they were afraid they were going to do."

"Do you want to go to space Grandpapa?" Eliza asked him.

After checking to see if she would be okay with him picking her up Jim held her on his hip and said, "Don't worry, I grew up with all these stories about space and exploring it but I was very happy with my feet here on Earth."

"Daddy-" Julia started to say as they looked at a model of the space shuttle.

"No, I'm good," Castle said, interrupting her as he already knew what she was going to ask. "If I was alone I'd try to go to Mars but I don't think I have the… right stuff." When he felt Becket lightly hit him with the back of her hand he said, "No?"

"They're a little young to get that Rick," Beckett said. "And you're second to the gear," she added with a smile as the girls were looking at some astronaut gear.

"That would happen," Castle said. He looked at her questioningly then and wasn't surprised when she held her hand out to his. Squeezing hers once their fingers were entwined, he said, " _You don't think we should split up again_?"

" _It wouldn't work that well_ ," Beckett said, nodding to Skye and Mary who were talking with Eliza.

"Them with the girls, us together and our parents… with whoever," Castle suggested though he wasn't serious.

Beckett smiled and shook her head before they left the room and she smiled when Eliza raced back to them. "Sweetie, no running," she told her firmly.

"I know," Eliza said. "Mommy, food."

Looking at her watch Beckett said, "How about one more room." She glanced ahead of them at it and said, "It's small so it shouldn't take too long to walk through."

"Kay," Eliza said with a sigh. She smiled when her mother took her hand and they walked inside the room and she said, "What is it?"

"This is called Explore the Universe," Martha said as she had the map that time. "Do you know what these are?"

Looking at the display they had stopped in front of Eliza studied the man in front of in front of an object and asked, "A tel'scope?"

"Telescope," Julia said to her sister, unable to help correct her.

"Tel'scope," Eliza repeated.

"Telescope," Julia said pretending to be mad, putting her hands on her hips.

"Tel'scope," Eliza said again, taking the same tone. She then playfully stuck her tongue out at her sister before Julia did the same and they laughed together.

"Do they do that often?" Mary asked after they'd calmed down laughing at the two.

"Not really but Julia likes to help her learn new words," Castle said. "And that method helps."

"What's this?" Julia asked her grandfather when they'd walked to a large round object with what she though were glass windows.

"It's a mirror for the Hubble telescope; a back up mirror," Jim said as Skye walked up to them with Eliza.

"What's that?" the toddler said.

"You remember your pictures in your room?" Jim asked her. "Of the galaxies?"

"This took the picture?" Eliza asked.

"It's part of the big telescope that did," Julia explained.

"Oooh… thank you," Eliza called to the mirror.

Beckett shared a smile with her husband and his mother before they followed the others around the rest of the items in the room. Once they had finished she nodded to Castle who went straight to their youngest, picking her up and tossing her up a bit in the air.

Crying out Eliza asked, "Why Daddy?" Before he could answer she gasped and then said, "I get to fly?"

"Not yet," Skye said quickly before Castle could speak. "First you need to get some energy to do that."

"Now it's lunch time," Beckett said when Eliza looked to her. She smiled when the toddler merely did so to her and they went together to the food court nearby.

After they had gathered around one of the tables Julia said to Skye, "Are you still going to teach us Japanese?"

"I almost forgot about that," the investigator said in reply. She looked thoughtful for a moment and then said, "I don't know that here is the best place to start another lesson."

"What about tonight?" Julia suggested.

"Which we forgot to tell you about," Castle said quickly as the McDouglases both looked confused at that. "We're inviting you to the hotel after we finish here… whenever that is-" he started to say.

"There is a second story and we've only gone through three rooms," Mary said. "Plus we've been here for… two hours."

"I imagine you'll be swimming later this afternoon," Martha commented.

"We were going to invite you two to join us to swim," Beckett then took up for her husband. "And then we'll head up to our room for dinner… perhaps cards. Does anyone have a deck?"

"I have two," Jim replied. "Standard and Spanish."

"Fantastic," Skye said, smiling at the girls as they giggled at her emphasizing the s on that. "I say we should go love," she told her wife.

"What about calling your daughters?" Castle asked then.

"My dad took them out to Knott's Berry Farm with his boyfriend," Skye explained.

"I thought he wasn't dating?" Beckett said in surprise, unable to help her gaze going over to Julia.

"They met at the farmer's market," Skye said. "It's nothing serious but he is very nice. A former United pilot."

"They knew each other," Castle stated instead of asked.

"In passing," Skye replied. "But my dad is happy so that's all I ask. So in answer to your question we'll join you but are you sure?"

"She's right you were only just, finally, reunited yesterday after so long apart," Mary said.

Looking down the table with the others as Martha began to clap Jim couldn't help say, "She did a good job with that?"

"Excellent," Martha replied as Mary had exaggerated the words finally and so long. "You should join my class."

"Thank you for the offer but I'll stick with psychology," Mary said with a slight laugh.

"We're serious about the invitation though," Castle said.

"We'll go," Skye promised. She caught Julia's pleased look as she said that and glanced to Beckett, seeing her smile simply at her before she turned her attention back to her food.

When they'd finished their meal the group followed the girls to the next room they were at to go inside and as soon as they were able to see what was in it the two looked to Skye.

"I'm not sure…" the investigator said, pretending to be doubtful. But when Julia grabbed her hand and Eliza the sleeve of her sweater she smiled and said, "Alright, here I can help you out but take a look at everything."

Following their daughters around the exhibits that were showing how it was that planes flew Castle and Beckett came to a small plane and looked at one another.

"I'll be right back," Castle said, leaving them then.

"Where did Daddy go?" Eliza asked as she and her sister then turned to see him going.

As her little sister had spoken Julia turned to see what was ahead of them and she said, "We're gonna fly."

Gasping Eliza asked, "We are?"

"Yep, look," Julia told her, pointing ahead to the plane.

"Oh… where is Skye?" Eliza asked her mother anxiously.

"Here I am," Martha called, walking over to them.

"No you aren't," Eliza said with a frown. She quickly smiled before her grandmother could think she was angry and then saw the investigator walking with her father. Hurrying to her she said, "Can you teach us?

"Well, I think that the employees here might want to do that," Skye said. But Eliza looked so disappointed that she couldn't help saying, "We'll see what I can do."

After waiting for the kid already inside the plane to finish Eliza held on tightly to the investigator's hand, pulling her over. When she was allowed to go up to the seat she realized that someone was talking to Skye and looked over at her to see the employee that had been standing there was the one doing that.

"I have read the book and it was great to see things so accurate," the woman almost gushed after she'd shaken Skye's hand. "Were you their source?"

"I assisted them," Skye replied with a slight nod of her head. "Is it possible for me to help her out with this?"

"Oh of course is this your daughter?" the woman asked.

"She's theirs," Mary said. When she felt Beckett grab her arm she realized her jealousy of the woman's manner was too apparent and she tried to relax though she wasn't happy about how the employee was gazing at Skye.

Julia watched as the woman quickly apologized before allowing the investigator to help her sister. She glanced then at Mary seeing her looking at her wife and looking at Skye she could tell that they were communicating that way. She became thoughtful for a moment before she then looked at her little sister as she then began to cry out.

"Mommy, Daddy I'm flying!" the toddler said with a laugh.

"I see you're doing a great job sweetie," Beckett said, taking pictures. She noticed that her husband was taking a picture on his phone and she asked, "Alexis?"

"I'll send them both once Julia gets in there," Castle answered, smiling then at his wife.

Turning her attention to their oldest Beckett saw that she was looking down at her camera. She became a little concerned as she could tell that Julia was thinking very seriously about something but when the little girl looked up at her she said, "Okay?"

"Yeah," Julia said quickly, nodding her head rapidly. She smiled then as Skye called her to the plane and she hurried over to climb up into it.

"Now I told your sister this since this is the reason they have the plane here," Skye was telling her and the little girl grabbed the controls in front of her. "But I want to see how much you know," she began with. "Do you know how planes fly?"

"The air on the wings?" Julia said first. "It's called… uplift?"

Castle smiled then as Skye was telling the little girl more about flying and once she started to move the controls he took another picture and texted Alexis as soon as the two were attached to the message. "So what did you think?" he asked as Julia stepped out of the plane with Skye's help.

"There's a lot of stuff in there," the little girl replied.

"It takes practice," Skye assured her. "Now come on, I'll show you a display they have you and your sister might like."

As they neared it Jim murmured to his daughter that he was walking with, "Might?"

Beckett bit back some laughter and then said, "I have to wonder how long they'll want to stay."

"Looks like it might be a while," Castle said, coming up to her and hearing that. He watched their daughters with her for a moment, looking at the airplane seats behind the Plexiglas, before they walked over to them.

"What do you think sweetie?" Beckett asked as she came up to Eliza who was standing in front of the seats.

"This is in a plane?" the toddler asked, indicating the metal that could be seen at the end of the cutout of the piece of fuselage from a commercial jet.

"It is," Beckett said with a nod. "It needs to be metal, it's stronger."

"Paper airplanes might be fun small but I don't think it'd really work up in the sky," Castle commented as he walked over to them with Julia.

"I wouldn't want to fly in one," the little girl said with a slight smile. "Did you see those up there?" she then asked her sister, pointing up at the top of the fuselage.

"That's where the suitcase goes?" Eliza guessed. When her sister nodded she smiled and then said, "Why can't I sit there?"

"Those seats would be worn out if they let everyone sit on them," Castle said, looking at his mother and Beckett's father as they came up to them.

"Where are Skye and Mary?" Julia asked then.

"They're waiting at the entrance to the exhibit," Jim said, pointing ahead of them.

Julia glanced back at her mother and said, "Can I walk with Skye?"

"Go ahead," Beckett replied with a nod. "Just don't run."

"I won't," Julia said a little shyly, walking as fast as she could to the two women. She slowed down near them and then said, "Hi."

"Hey, you know already?" Skye asked her.

"Know what?" Julia asked in surprise.

"That basically the rest of this floor is her department," Mary said.

"Oh… I didn't but I was hoping," Julia said.

Glancing at Beckett who was coming up with the others Skye saw her friend's smile and she raised one eyebrow questioningly. When she got a slight shake of Beckett's head in response she smiled herself and inclined her head before she turned to her wife who was talking to Julia to distract her; glad that everyone but Castle had missed that wordless exchange. "Alright let's get going we're going to be looking at some very important aircraft now," she said to the little girl. She smiled when Eliza ran to her to take her other hand and led the toddler to the next exhibit.

Castle was slightly surprised when the girls stayed with Skye as they continued through the rooms though they didn't ignore their family. He glanced at Beckett, wanting to talk to her but having a hard time as he never seemed to find a chance to talk to her in slight privacy. Finally though he had the opportunity before they went into the last room they needed to look into, holding her back from the others. "Is Julia…?" he started to say when his wife looked at him questioningly.

"No," Beckett replied softly. She then began speaking in Irish quickly as her father looked back at them saying, " _She's wondering but she doesn't know yet and she does admire_ Skye."

" _You're not jealous are you_?" Castle asked. When his wife leveled a look at him he said, "I guess not." At that point they followed the others over to the room and he whistled slightly saying, "Forgot about this."

Beckett smiled as at that moment she was looking at their daughters and said, "We might be here for a while."

"We might," Castle said in agreement before they hurried to go through the exhibits and then last went to the forward fuselage of a 747.

"Now can we go?" Eliza asked her parents after they'd looked at the model of a Rolls Royce engine.

"You didn't enjoy it here?" Beckett asked her with a smile.

"We want to go up into the…" Julia started to say before she looked at Skye.

"I say flight deck," the investigator replied.

"Yeah, we'd like to go there," Julia said. She then turned to her grandmother that she was next to and asked, "Are you going up too?"

"Of course, I'm interested in seeing what it looks like inside," Martha assured her. "Since of course you never get to see it."

Making their way up to the walkway to the inside of the fuselage Skye and Mary hung back and the former told the others, "This is a Northwest 747-151 so I could have flown it but I wouldn't have taken the chance."

Though Julia wanted to ask the woman to come with them to explain she felt a little shy doing so and she followed her family inside. She was surprised when her sister grabbed her hand suddenly and she looked at her, seeing she looked a little anxious. "You don't have to be scared," she whispered to her.

Castle; hearing that; murmured something to his father in law and mother before he said, "We should probably go three at a time."  
"But we could go four," Julia said.

Beckett smiled when her husband looked startled and said, "Three is okay for now but maybe someone can join us if we're comfortable enough for another person."

Jim, watching the exchange between his daughter and son in law, looked on as Beckett took the girls into the cockpit and Castle left them. "Has that ever lessened?" he asked Martha.

"The silent conversations?" Castle's mother asked in return. When he nodded she smiled saying, "I have yet to see that occur." She then became thoughtful and told him, "When you move in you'll be able to notice much better."

"That's not a while," Jim replied, smiling slightly at her guess.

"I'm tempted to do the same myself," Martha said, brushing off his comment. "But I'm a city girl at heart and I've never minded the travel."

"So if I moved in you wouldn't be jealous," Jim said.

"Not in the slightest," Martha said. "Ah, wonderful Julia's been expecting you," she then said to Skye who was coming inside with Castle.

"So I heard," the investigator said with a smile. She left them and went to where Beckett was sitting in the flight engineer's seat and said, "Who took my chair?"

Julia looked over her shoulder from the pilot's seat and laughed softly saying, "Do you want to fly?"

"No," Eliza said firmly.

"Believe me, we're not going to fly," Beckett said, smiling at Skye.

"She's been concerned?" the investigator asked.

"Yep," Julia said, climbing out. "It's her turn," she said to Skye when she watched her in slight surprise. "So this is what you fly?" she asked as Beckett was going to the co-pilot's seat to help Eliza move to the other chair.

"Technically yes but really no," Skye said. "I'm certified for newer models and the x version." She then looked around with a smile and said, "It's a bit like home here."

"But you really fly a smaller plane," Julia said, watching her mother sit then in the co-pilot's seat.

"True but that's because my job is with the NTSB," Skye said, sitting in the engineer's seat. "Now, would you two like me to talk to you about all these bits and bobbles?" she asked, motioning to the control panel in front of Eliza and Beckett.

"You might need to speak a little quickly about that," the latter said to her. "There are people waiting behind the rest of our family."'

"Great," Skye said, standing up. She brought Julia over to her and said, pointing, "That's the invisibility cloak button, that's the protego button, you know, to protect yourself from the bugs that might come up to thirty thousand feet."

Laughing with Eliza at the absurdity of that, Julia finally made herself stop and said, "You know we like Harry Potter."

"I remembered my last visit to see you," Skye said with a nod. "And that's an old joke for me, I told that to my girls before. No but this is of course the glide slope; very important since you need that for landing."

Beckett listened in as Skye named the more essential buttons and equipment in the cockpit, watching the girls looking at her seriously as she spoke. When they'd left she smiled at her husband in passing but held her friend back slightly while the girls went to Mary to speak to her. " _Crush_?" she asked in Russian.

" _I was thinking the same_ ," Skye said. " _But I believe she might want to speak to me about something… something important_."

" _Or both_ ," Beckett said. She wasn't surprised when Skye nodded to her and she said, " _If she does talk to you is it bad of me to ask you to tell me_?"

" _Unless she asks me to keep it in confidence then no_ ," Skye replied. She smiled past her shoulder and said, "Shall we head on to the upper floor then?"

"Yeah that was nice," Castle said before he went to his wife, taking her hand. He listened to her hurriedly tell him in Irish what she and Skye had just spoken about and when she'd finished he looked ahead at their oldest before smiling. " _I'd say a question_ ," he told her, speaking in Irish as well. When Beckett smiled and nodded he squeezed her hand tightly before they walked after the others to head upstairs to the rest of the museum.


	27. Around The Clouds (Part 2)

"Okay, so here's the last room," Skye said. "Not much surprise here," she said. "I just thought it'd be nice to go way, way back in time."

"Is that a first plane?" Eliza asked her parents that she was walking hand in hand with.

"One of the first planes," Castle said with a smile. "A Wright Brothers plane."

"Go ahead," Beckett said, seeing that Eliza was jumping a little bit before she and Castle let her go. She smiled as Skye and Mary told the two girls about the plane and the inventors before they continued through the room looking at the other models.

When they reached a bike Julia studied it after she'd taken a picture of it and said, "This was what they made?"

"It was," Mary replied. "There are only five of these in the world so it's extremely rare."

"What do you think?" Skye said, studying her doing that with the bike.

"I don't know, the handle bars are different," Julia said.

"That's how they were back then," Jim said as he was standing on the other side of the girls. He smiled at Julia and said, "I'm sure you like the color though."

A grin appearing on her face the little girl said, "Yeah, it's a nice blue."

Since that was the last thing they'd needed to see the group went to the gift shop and after purchasing what they had chosen they headed to the Mall.

"Are we going to the hotel now?" Eliza asked hopefully.

"We need to," Castle said, looking at his phone as they walked over to the street they'd need to head back. "Alexis wants to talk to us now."

"It's nearly nine thirty there," Beckett said. "What about you two?" she asked the McDouglases.

"We'll be back as soon as we grab our swim suits," Mary replied.

"It'll give you a chance to speak to Alexis," Skye said as they were coming up to the street. "Tell her we said hello."

"We will," Beckett promised as a cab was pulling up to the two. Once they were gone she took Julia's hand before they made their way back to the hotel, stopping at the suite so the girls and her father could get their things.

"Well I hate to leave you," Martha said, grabbing her dress for her dinner and play. "But I know you'll enjoy your time with Skye and Mary."

"You're not leaving yet Gram," Julia protested.

"She's right, after you speak to Alexis," Castle told his mother. He led the way then to his and Beckett's room and was quick to set up the TV before the young woman was appearing on the screen. "Hello, long time no see," he said jokingly to her.

"Hey Dad," Alexis said before her gaze turned to the others. "And Kate, Gram, Jim."

"Me too!" Eliza protested though she was smiling as she knew her big sister was joking. "And Jules."

"I know, I was saving my sisters for last," Alexis replied. "Hi Jules, Lizzy."

"How are you doing kiddo?" Martha asked.

"Really well," Alexis said. "Now I'm here at the manor and can relax for a little bit before it's back to school."

"I hope you'll enjoy your time there," Jim said.

"I am already," Alexis said. She then began to speak but hesitated and told them, "After I hang up with you I'm going with Louis for a night ride."

"Really," Castle said.

"On the path around the house, you remember it," Alexis said.

"I do," Julia said, looking at their father. "It's got a lot of lights."

"It does," Castle said in agreement. "So anything fun today?"

Alexis talked about her day, mainly resting in bed before she got up to look at the horses with Louis. She refrained from telling her family that she'd spent that morning before getting up with her boyfriend but didn't realize that her stepmother was able to guess that just from her body language. But no one asked her anything until she was talking about going into the nearest town with Louis and Erin to look at the small bookstore there.

"Any good books?" Eliza asked.

"I didn't find anything but Erin did," Alexis replied. "And then we came back and went to walk with the horses in pasture before we had dinner and played until Erin went to bed. Now I want to hear all about your day." She smiled; seeing the others doing so as well; as the girls spoke together about their visit to the White House first. "Nice I can't wait to see your pictures," she said when they'd finished.

"Yeah that was neat," Julia said. "Try and see if you can find the picture of Mommy and Daddy with the Vice President."

"I'll search for it," Alexis promised. "And what was next?"

"We went to the Air and Space Museum and it was awesome!" Eliza said eagerly.

Laughing with everyone else at the toddler's exuberance Castle got up as the room's phone was ringing and he said, "That's probably Skye and Mary; coming for our pool party slash dinner tonight."  
"They said hi to you," Eliza then said.

"If I don't see them tell them hi back," Alexis said. "Now tell me about the museum."

Going back to the others Castle added to the conversation when there were chances; the girls very enthusiastic about telling her as much as they could. When Skye and Mary arrived they were just starting to say goodbye to Alexis and he rushed to open the door for them before he said, "We'll talk to you tomorrow?"

"I'm not sure yet, I have to see," Alexis replied. "But if not… Tuesday?"

"Probably then, have fun tomorrow until you go kiddo," Castle said. "Love you."

"Thanks Dad, love you too," Alexis said with a smile. "And you too Gram."

"Take care darling," Martha said.

After she had said goodbye to her stepmother and Jim, Alexis said to her sisters, "I love you Jules, Lizzy, have fun the rest of your trip if I don't talk to you tomorrow."

"You too!" Eliza said first. "Love you 'lexis!"

"I love you too 'lexis," Julia told her next.

"Alright bye everyone. Nice to see you again Skye, Mary," Alexis told the two women.

"Same to you Alexis, we'll see you again I know," Skye said. When the screen when to a blue one she said, "So who's ready to swim?"

As the girls cried out that they were Martha stood and said, "I need to go, so come here you two." She took the girls in her arms and kissed them, exchanging I love yous with them before she said goodbye to the rest of her family and the McDouglases.

Leaving shortly after the rest of the family and Skye and Mary went down to the pool, the girls talking eagerly to the two women about what they could do on there with them as Castle, Beckett and Jim listened in with smiles on their faces.

* * *

Popping back out of the water Eliza smiled at her father who was swimming with her and she said, "I can't jump still Daddy?"

"Sorry sweetheart," Castle said. "It says very pointedly there on the floor that you can't jump."

"Lemme sit with Mommy," Eliza then said firmly. She swam as her father helped her over to the edge where Beckett was sitting with Jim and as she was helped up she wrapped her arms around her.

"You're tired of swimming already?" Beckett asked her youngest, kissing her cheek.

"Yeah I wanna talk with you Mommy, Grandpapa," Eliza said.

"What about you Rick?" Beckett asked her husband with a smile as he'd been brushing his lips to the side of her leg as he was holding onto the edge next to her.

"I think it's about time to wrap things up," Castle said, nodding his head. He took a quick glance behind him to the end of the pool where the lounge chairs were and saw that Julia was having her hair braided by Skye. " _What do you think_?" he whispered to his wife.

Smiling then Beckett said, "She wanted to ask her about flying," since their oldest was alone with the investigator. She knew that wasn't the actual case but didn't want her and her husband to talk about it in front of their other daughter or her father.

"True so… five minutes to give Mary a little more time doing her laps?" Castle said, getting what his wife was doing. When Beckett nodded he ducked under the water, hoping whatever the two were talking about wasn't negative though he wasn't sure how Skye could let that happen.

"There you are," the investigator was saying then as she tied off the braid she'd made in the little girl's hair. "All set."

"Thanks," Julia said with a smile before she ran her hand over the braid. She was about to speak then when she heard a squeal followed by a cry and she looked over to see her father had splashed her mother and sister.

"Your father can act like a little boy sometimes," Skye commented. When Julia looked at her she leaned in a little closer and whispered, "I do the same thing to Mary." She then spoke normally and said, "Of course she does the same, so we're all still little kids at heart." She was pleased when the little girl smiled and asked, "So what did you want to ask me Julia?"

Blushing immediately at that the little girl said softly, "Is it strange to be with a woman?"

"Romantically?" Skye asked. At Julia's nod she shook her head saying, "It's all I've known; all I wanted. When I thought about being with a man as I grew older it never seemed like it'd be as nice as with a woman. Now the opposite side to that is your mother would not find being with a woman that nice. Definitely not now."

Frowning Julia said, "Are you… attracted to her?"

Laughing softly Skye explained, "I meant in the sense that she's very much in love with your father. She wouldn't want to be with any other man; she wouldn't find that nice. Oh and your uncle would agree with your mother, he wouldn't want to be with a woman either."

"I talked to him already," Julia said. When Skye looked at her in surprise she reminded her of the night before saying, "When he took me to the kitchen to get a glass of water. I asked him if everyone hated him 'cause he has a husband."

"What did he say?" Skye asked gently, knowing what the man had told her already.

"That his family wasn't his family anymore because they threw him out of the house when he came out to them," Julia said.

"That can happen," Skye said with a sigh. "But did he tell you he knew they would do that beforehand?" She was relieved when Julia nodded and said, "Some people have the idea that what people like me and Patrick… Trevor too we can't forget him or Mary for that matter. But they think we choose to be like this." She smiled at the expression on the little girl's face and said, "You're right, it makes no sense why we would choose this so people can discriminate against us and treat us as if we weren't even regular human beings. But we are."

"I know," Julia said softly with a smile. "You're a mom like my mommy and you and Mary are like my parents too. But that's not what I asked."

"Well to go with what you said a bit," Skye said, thinking for a moment how she wanted to answer Julia's question. "When you're with a woman and you are a woman if you're in love it's… amazing. I'm sure if you asked your parents that then they'd say the same. It's love Julia. But I don't blame you for asking," she said as the little girl still didn't seem to be satisfied. "I had the same curiosity."

"About your dad?" Julia asked.

Shaking her head quickly and seeing her wife was coming over to them Skye told her, "I never knew he was gay until I told him that I was. But he told me what it meant to be gay when I was a bit older than you so I would understand the concept. Your parents told you?"

Nodding Julia said, "After they met you and I saw Mary go to you at the hospital." When she saw the investigator was looking at her questioningly she explained, "I think I asked who you were and Mommy said."

"Nice of her to do that," Mary said, coming to them and hearing that. Though she had no clue what exactly the two were talking about she could guess and she wondered what else they were discussing. She kissed her wife's temple and said, "Mind if I join you?"

Waiting for Julia to shake her head no Skye said, "So you know some gay men and lesbians and what we're like. And that we love our spouses and it's not that we're different; love is no different."

"I thought it might be like that," Julia said with a shy smile. She looked at her family and saw they were all drying off at one of the chairs at the longer side of the pool. "I was just wondering," she told the two.

"I don't blame you; that'll happen," Skye said with a nod. "Go on to your family I imagine we're heading up for dinner." As soon as the little girl had left them she began to explain to her wife in Russian what she'd talked to the girl about but didn't get very far before Beckett was coming to them. So she started over again in the same language before saying, " _It's alright, she's not deciding but she's becoming aware of herself and trying to figure out who she is exactly_."

" _I went through that_ ," Mary said. " _Tried to imagine kissing a man and then a woman a lot. Or disrobing with both genders. That latter one made me aware right quick I didn't want to watch the guy and see his… shorts area. The woman, yes please._ "

Beckett couldn't help laughing before she heard her husband call her name and told him, "We're coming." Turning to the women as she waited for them to get their bag she then said, " _How did she seem while she was talking though_?" as that concerned her a little more than her daughter's sexuality.

"If she's like us…" Skye began, speaking in English as they were far enough away from the others to do that.

"Then she's like you and she's my daughter," Beckett said firmly. "And I love her; exactly what I've told you before."

"She's concerned," Skye replied, answering her question. "I was worried it was about your reaction to her if she should turn out to be gay since she mentioned Patrick's family but I think she has a feeling you'd be okay with it. But it's mainly what her life is like as a gay woman _if_ she is one."

"Wait and see?" Beckett said at her friend's emphasis on the word if.

"Exactly," Skye said. Since they had held back so far they missed the elevator with the others but it gave them more time to talk so she then told Beckett what the little girl had asked her. "Does it seem like I'm attracted to you?" she asked after they'd all laughed.

"I think she's afraid you might be," Mary pointed out. When her wife and Beckett turned to her in surprise she smiled and explained, "She wants you with Rick, maybe the two of us together too. So it's a fear but I don't know, what about a big smacking kiss once we're in the room with them love?"

"There are better ways to show that," Skye said before the doors opened on one of the elevators.

Inside their parents' suite the girls were looking out into the hall at the doorway, waiting for their mother to come but for different reasons. Julia knew that Skye had told her mother what they'd spoken about, so when they saw Beckett she stayed in the doorway while her little sister ran out to her. She waited, as Mary carried Eliza into the room and Skye followed with a smile to her, for her mother to say something but instead she was being pulled out past the open doorway, embraced by Beckett tightly to her surprise.

"Okay sweetie?" she asked her daughter before she let her go to cup her cheek.

"Yeah," Julia said softly. She pressed her cheek against her mother then, not wanting to speak about her conversation with Skye before she said, "I love you Mommy."

"I love you Julia, unconditionally, you're my first child remember," Beckett said. She smiled when, looking down at Julia, she saw her daughter appeared perplexed and said, "I'll always love you, no matter what because you're so special to me."

"She's right, we both will," Castle said, stepping out in time to hear that.

"Thank you Daddy," Julia said quickly, hugging him then. "Is it 'cause I'm your first kid with Mommy before Eliza?"

"That and because you're my daughter; my second daughter; and I love you unconditionally as your mother said which means we love you because we do there's no need for an exact reason," Castle said with a nod. "Come on, let's go and order because we're all starving after our swim." As Julia walked ahead of them he wasn't surprised when Beckett held him back and he listened to her speak about what she'd discussed with Skye and Mary. "We have to make sure she knows we weren't lying about loving her still," he said when she finished.

"We will," Beckett said, taking his hand and pulling him over to the suite before anyone came out for them and heard what they were saying.

Once everyone was inside and had looked at the menu for room service Castle called in their decisions and until the food arrived watched the girls as Julia was showing her parents the moves she'd learned before her teacher had cancelled classes that week.

Since there were so many of them the group split up to eat at the table or on the couch. The girls were trying to get Skye and Mary to tell them about the zoo as their parents had never been there before, nor had their grandfather.

Finally, near the end of the meal as Julia asked another question of the McDouglases, Jim said, "We're going tomorrow girls; I'm sure you'll find out very soon what the zoo is like."

"And pay attention to what we said before," Skye told them. "You'll love it there."

"I think that just makes it worse," Beckett said laughing as Eliza pouted.

"Sorry," Skye said. "So what shall we do now?"

"What time do you want to go back to your hotel?" Castle asked after he and Jim had set the trays the food had come to them on out in the hall.

"Until you kick us out," Mary said. "No, we'll go… I think in about an hour," she said as she looked at her watch, knowing at that point the two would want to put their youngest daughter to bed.

"For now bring out the cards," Skye said, clapping her hands.

Once there were enough chairs around the table the group played _Cinquillo_ before Jim taught them the game Kings in the Corner though he was just teaching the girls that. Eliza couldn't quite understand it so they finished off their night watching the girls play War against their parents.

"We'll see you at the zoo," Skye said, hugging Julia goodbye at the door after she'd done so to her sister. "And we'll all be excited but the zoo is quite big so sleep and bring good walking shoes."  
"We will," Julia said, her sister nodding in agreement with her. "Thanks for coming for dinner."

"We knew it would be fun," Mary said.

Hugging Beckett then Skye whispered to her in Russian, " _She'll be alright_."

" _I know, thank you for talking to her_ ," Beckett replied. She then went to pick up Eliza and they followed the two women over to the elevator, waving goodbye to them. "Okay you two," she told the girls as they walked back to the suite they were sharing with their grandparents. "You need to bathe so I'll take you in." She led Julia over to the bathroom on the side that Martha and Eliza were sharing. She got the toddler undressed and put her in the bath tub while Julia was showering.

Once she was finished Julia stepped out and said to her mother, "What do you think Daddy and Grandpapa are talking about now?"

"Probably our plans for the rest of our trip," Beckett said with a smile as she was drying Eliza's hair. "Okay so you're ready sweetie, brush your teeth." She followed her to the sink and when Julia joined them she told the girls, "We might have time for a story tonight." When they both looked at her she smiled and then said, "But a short one okay?"

Looking at her sister as she spoke, Julia told their mother, "Could we hear one about you and Patrick?"

"I think so," Beckett said, ushering them to the door. "Your daddy will want to hear the story," she added with a smile. "They want to hear about me and Patrick," she told her husband once she saw him.

"Sure that would be great," Castle said with a nod.

Seeing Castle setting her sister on the bed Julia asked, "What about Gram?"

"I'm having a sleep over with you two," Jim said with a smile as he sat at the end of the bed, watching them. "If that's okay."

"Yeah!" Julia and Eliza said at the same time.

"What story are you gonna say Mommy?" Julia then asked, turning to her.

Thinking for a moment Beckett said, "This was one of our morning runs the day after we did something together. It was after we'd gone running and we were walking back to his place once we had some coffee. He talked to me about this guy he'd seen that I might like."

For a moment Jim was surprised to hear her say that before he realized what his daughter was talking about and he smiled as he watched the confusion on the girls' face.

"I told him he was being very silly, I hadn't met the man," Beckett explained. "And he told me to just imagine if I had what would have happened."

"We won't be here," Eliza protested.

Beckett wasn't surprised when Julia put her hand on her sister's arm and she said to her, "Go ahead Julia."

"It's Daddy they're talking about," the little girl said.

"We did almost meet," Castle replied as Eliza looked to him in surprise. "But it wasn't meant to be just yet."

Beckett slightly rolled her eyes when the girls looked at her and told them, "But Patrick would tease me constantly about your daddy."

"You thought he was cute?" Julia asked. When her mother nodded she smiled and said, "You heard Daddy?"

"I knew before," Castle said with a slight smirk before his wife was rolling her eyes again.

"Did Patrick think Daddy was too?" Eliza asked.

Seeing that Julia tensed up, looking bemused at the same time, and Beckett told her, "You can think someone's attractive if they don't think the same as you. And he did think so but he tended towards men like Trevor." To get them off the subject she then said, "He seemed to think that if the two of us had a baby it would have gorgeous eyes."

"Ours or Daddy's?" Eliza asked.

"Either," Beckett said with a smile, looking over her shoulder at her husband.

"And he was right," Castle said, leaning over to ruffle Eliza's hair to her giggle.

"So he was your best friend," Julia said after her mother stopping talking let her know that she was finished.

"He was," Jim answered for his daughter, smiling at her. "They were close too which your mother needed at the time."

"I'm glad he was Mommy," Eliza said, smiling at her.

"Me too," Julia said. When her mother then moved to stand she sighed and said to her little sister, "I think it's time."

"It is," Castle said, standing up as well and moving out of the way for Jim who was walking around the bed.

Yawning widely Eliza looked up at Jim and said, "Are you gonna go to bed Grandpapa?"

"I will, soon," Jim said seriously. He sat on the edge of the bed and hugged her tightly to him before he said to her, "I love you honey, sweet dreams."

"Love you too Grandpapa," Eliza said, smiling at him. She then giggled as she was being hugged from behind and said, "You hafta go too?"

"Yep but I was gonna say goodnight now," Julia said. She waited for her to share a kiss with their grandfather before her little sister turned around to face her. They embraced and she told her, "Night Lizzy."

"Night Jules, see you tomorrow!" Eliza said though she yawned immediately as soon as she'd finished speaking. She watched her father sit with them but then Jim went to her sister and she leaned against Castle as they waited.

"I love you Grandpapa," Julia said. "Mommy said I should say goodnight too."

"I love you," Jim said. "And we should all get some sleep."

Beckett grabbed Castle's arm at that but looking at him she saw that he was smiling so she relaxed as he turned his attention to their daughters who were looking at him expectantly.

"Love you Daddy," Eliza said as she hugged him around the neck.

"I love you sweetheart," Castle said. "Sweet dreams and we'll see you in the morning so we can go straight to the zoo." He couldn't help chuckle at the surprise on her face and said, "We'll have a small breakfast there. Just something small we can pick up as we go but we'll eat there. So sleep okay?"

"Yeah, thanks Daddy," Eliza said.

"And your mom," Castle said before he shared a kiss with her. He hugged her a final time and hugging Julia said, "I love you too Julia."

"Love you Daddy, thanks for inviting Skye and Mary tonight," Julia said, looking over at her mother so she would know she was thanking her too. She shared a kiss with her father and as soon as Beckett was sitting in his place she was hugging her with Eliza as tightly as they possibly could.

"I love you both girls," Beckett said, pulling back from them slightly to be able to look at them. "And I want you to not think about tomorrow okay? When you talk before you sleep-"

"How do you know we're gonna do that?" Julia interrupted, pretending to sound offended.

"I know my girls," Beckett told her before she leaned down, nuzzling Eliza's nose before she did the same to Julia. "But when you talk, talk about what you did today instead alright?"

"Kay," Eliza said, yawning again. She kissed her mother before watching her do the same to Julia and then said, "Night Jules," again.

"Night Lizzy," Julia said with a smile before they got on the bed to watch their mother tuck them in. She waved to their parents and grandfather before they left and then turned to her sister when they were alone in the room.

"Did you want to play cards here?" Beckett asked her father.

"I'm tired," Jim said honestly. "It's a little hard to keep up with them sometimes; I don't know how you two do it."

Smiling Beckett said as she stepped forward to hug him, "We have a lot of practice doing that. Sleep well Dad."

"She's right you should, we'll have more walking tomorrow," Castle said.

"I'll keep that in mind," Jim said.

After they'd said goodnight to her father Beckett led the way out into the hall and walked with Castle to their suite. Once inside as soon as the door was closed and locked she threw her arms around her husband, feeling him hit it with his back. Luckily by then he was responding to her and they were fighting hungrily before he suddenly turned her around and pressed her against the door. She slid her fingers through his hair, making sure her nails raked over his scalp loving the way he shuddered against her heavily.

When they parted Castle murmured against her lips and then said, "Should we move into the room more?"

"I don't know, we might be alright here," Beckett said, looking around before she let her eyes fall on him, smiling widely.

Castle walked with his wife over to the bedroom and he breathed out saying, "I wasn't sure they'd have the time."

Beckett brushed her lips against her husband's at the sight of the petals on the bed and she said, "How many flowers did you ask them to take from?"

"I had ordered them already," Castle said since the petals were coral. "And just three."

"Perfect," Beckett said, kissing him before she dragged him over around the bed as they'd been standing at the end of it. With him sitting on the edge she sat on his lap, her arms around his neck before they were leaning into one another to kiss yet again. They became a little rough with each other and it wasn't until his hand was underneath her skirt that they managed to stop. "Rick," she breathed out at the way his touch seemed to sear her skin pleasantly, grasping at her thigh.

"Are you still wearing your bathing suit?" Castle asked her. When she nodded he quickly made her stand up and had her turn around before he unzipped her sundress she wore for cover and then helped it off of her. He watched her get on the bed as soon as she was free of the dress and he said, "Me?"

Sitting on the bed on her knees Beckett told him, "You can take off your cover up."

"I don't think that's what a shirt and jeans are supposed to be called," Castle said wryly before he took off the shirt. He was surprised to find her up close to him at the edge and smirked saying, "Not fair you get to touch me already," though that smile soon faltered as she was running her fingers over his chest. He was unbuttoning and unzipping his jeans then but he paused as he was hissing heavily while she stroked both his nipples.

Beckett couldn't help herself touching him for some time before she stopped and whispered, "Let me help you." She reached down and helped pull on his jeans, eventually sitting down where she'd been before but that time with her legs slightly to the side. She kept an eye on his erection, biting her lower lip as she could tell it was large through his trunks as he then joined her on top of the bed. When he paused she asked, "What?" as he was looking at her questioningly.

"Are you checking me out?" Castle asked, sitting and bringing his face right up against hers.

Letting her expression dissolve into a smile slowly Beckett murmured, "What would your reaction be if I said I was?" She hurriedly placed her hand on his chest and then said, "And if I said I was doing so because I needed to make sure you were ready to fuck me?" There was no surprise when her husband threw himself at her but only to kiss her as hard as he could. Her lips throbbed for a moment in pain, an erotic sensation that left her moaning against him, before she was fighting against him as hard as she could. She wrapped her arms around him as tightly as possible as they continued to kiss harder though she wasn't sure how that was possible.

Eventually when they moved apart to breathe and Castle looked into his wife's eyes deeply as his hands were reaching up. He felt a rush of love for her as her eyes closed and she tilted her head back as soon as he cupped her breasts. "I love this," he told her seriously. "Your bra tends to do its job covering these a little too well. I put my hands on you it's feeling padding… not you."

"Do you know how thin this fabric is?" Beckett asked, gasping slightly as he gently squeezed her mounds. Looking on she smiled as he stretched the fabric over each breast, studying each nub that was heavily taut. She wasn't surprised when he next leaned down and proceeded to suck at her right nipple through the fabric of her bikini. Though she recalled that she had rinsed out in the shower at the pool, she didn't want him tasting that so she reached up and untied her bikini top before gently pushing him away.

Staring into his wife's eyes for a moment Castle hurried to help her get everything off them both before he was getting off the bed and running. He could hear her soft laughter before he returned, showing her their book he'd found.

"This?" Beckett asked, looking at the position the picture was of. When he nodded she smiled and then said, " _Opening the heavenly gate_." She looked at him in time to see him lean down and kiss her shoulder before she smiled and said, "Hurry," as she handed him the book.

As soon as the tome was where it needed to be; close by on her nightstand; Castle turned to her and kissed her before they together got her down on the bed. He then grabbed her right leg and placed her ankle on his shoulder as she wrapped her other leg around his. He got himself inside of her and when he stopped he breathed, "I'll take this as long as I can," since he was away from her on his hands and knees.

"Good luck," Beckett said, able to smile for only a second before her husband started to thrust inside of her. She cried out as he groaned her name at the same time since he was deep and she eventually was able to get her eyes back open, watching him reach for her knee with his right hand. She trembled as he nuzzled the inside of her leg at that point and she could see why the position had been named as it was as her left leg moved to spread away from his body. "Rick… I…" she breathed, the pleasure making her burn and pant heavily.

"I know… you're so beautiful… s-so tight…" Castle said, catching her eyes then as she reached up to grasp his left arm that she could touch. Eventually he felt her holding onto his other arm with her other hand and he decided to; for the moment; use his lips instead of that hand as well. Kissing his way up to her ankle he paused for a moment, rubbing her skin with his cheek and shuddering at the silk that caressed his skin. He then pressed his lips again to her flesh, being gentle and very careful before he slowly reached her ankle. She was moving with him; by then her left hand was pressing on the bed to assist her; and their hips were smacking together loudly as he sped up a little more. "Love…" he breathed to her lovingly. "You feel…" he started to say.

"Tell me," Beckett breathed, wondering if he'd lean towards vulgarity in his description and was torn between wanting a slightly more pornographic experience though she couldn't help feel the urge for something a little more sophisticated to come out of his mouth. He spoke then in reply to her and she had what she wanted though she didn't know until he said it that she did.

"Like a goddess," Castle breathed out to her, not realizing what she was thinking. "If you could even touch a goddess… this is what it would… would feel like. You're perfect… so soft, your skin is, is calling me to touch you."

"Keep doing that," Beckett said, tilting her head back and arching her back at the same time, clutching his left arm for dear life. Everything was building up in her, he was too good at pushing her so she became a little resigned to the fact that he was going to get her to climax when he suddenly stopped. She wondered if she whimpered but didn't dwell on the idea as he went a little crazy kissing around her leg repeatedly. "This is why you want me?"

"One reason," Castle corrected her, trying to ignore his member throbbing. He could still feel the echo of the friction they'd managed to build up between them and he pressed his cheek to the side of her leg, closing his eyes tightly. He shifted slightly and when he heard her gasp he knew that she was feeling the same. He then thought of something and asked her, "How do I feel to you?"

Beckett bit her lower lip before she asked, "Do you want me to be honest?" trembling when he kissed and then proceeded to suck at her ankle. He paused and nodded so she told him honestly, "Thick… and hard." She then breathed out in her pleasure and told him happily, "And so deep. Fuck me again Rick I can feel you… your pulse…" When he then began to thrust against her she was startled when he didn't change their position; as she'd thought he'd do; and instead he went back to kissing her leg. She became inexplicably frustrated and she decided to see if she could tempt him, biting her lower lip again since she was eager to start but let a little more time pass before she began.

Hearing his wife saying his name Castle turned his attention from the pleasure of her moving around him, their bodies creating that same friction yet again, and looked down at her to find that her hands were moving. He wasn't sure if his mouth dropped open at the sight of her fingers rolling over her nipples but he thought it might have as the briefest of smiles flitted across his wife's face. "Kate…" he told her, highly jealous of her fingers at that moment. She gave him a little smirk and that was all he needed before he was taking both of her legs and nearly throwing them around his waist. Able to reach her he went straight to her breasts and proceeded to suckle at them, hungry at the taste of her skin. They were moving a little more deliberately which was making him feel even more of her sex around him. He was on fire as much as her body's arousal felt like it was on fire and he decided that he was going to burn. He had no choice, he managed to say to himself in his head, as his wife was going to kill him and pleasurably.

Beckett had no idea what her husband was thinking but she could feel his desperation in the way he sucked at her other nipple before she pushed his head away. She was slightly relieved when he stopped but was startled as he bowed his head before she heard the anguish in his speaking her name. She reached up and gently stroked at his head before telling him, "It's time Rick, I want to come to feel you inside me." She smiled slightly when he shuddered and she told him, "When we both do, don't leave me."

Raising his head Castle asked, "You can feel me?"

"I can feel you right now," Beckett said, gasping at the end of that as he was beginning to move. He was very slow and she could tell that he was making sure that she could feel him, which she could and cried out to him that she could to assure him of it. "Please, enough love… please!"

The desperation in her voice was enough to push Castle to thrust harder and faster, groaning with her as their bodies met with a heavy smack before he moved to her lips to kiss her. He fought with her tongue frantically until finally he was pulling back as he felt himself falling and let himself do so when he felt his wife was going through the same.

Crying out Castle's name repeatedly Beckett had her nails dragging over his shoulders, aware that she was but not feeling that she was doing so a little hard. She felt the waves of pleasure going through her unendingly and repeatedly until she was ready to pass out. But she just managed to keep from doing so, the shock of her husband's release making her keep conscious so she could feel him. She had no idea how many times her form throbbed; not just her sex; or how many times her husband thrust, she was only aware of her ecstasy until it suddenly stopped and she was breathing heavily.

Still thrusting against his wife though she was still Castle had to hold himself up the best he could as he was tempted to collapse on her. But he was able to remain up and he said, "You were right."

"I know," Beckett sighed as she could easily feel that he was still erect. She managed to begin flexing herself around his member and when he grunted she was quick to reach for the book on the nightstand. As soon as she had it in hand she opened it randomly and said, "This one?"

Since she hadn't looked at it Castle said, "You should check it out first."

Turning it towards herself as her husband raised himself above her Beckett read, " _Woman acting the part of the man_." She said, "If we're going to do this…" She was pleased when her husband instantly turned her over after she'd tossed the book aside and she remained where she was pressed against him though on her arms and knees. Their chests pressed together she couldn't help smile as she told him, "This won't last."

Shaking his head as he bent his knees behind her Castle told her, "But we'll have enough."

Smirking Beckett told him, "We will." She kissed him then as she started to experiment with the way she could thrust, trying her best to move fast. It took her a bit to work up to that before she was set and as soon as she could focus on something else; difficult as her husband's arousal hadn't gone down in the slightest; she did so. She proceeded then to stroke his hair whispering, "You can feel m-me?" stammering a little as her husband made their joint rhythm a little broken since he was holding his hips down for her.

"Every… inch of you… all over," Castle groaned in pleasure. "You feel… _perfect_." Looking at her he wasn't surprised to see her cheeks slightly flush and he ran his hands from the small of her back to her ass. "Want me to?" he asked her hurriedly.

"Please," Beckett said as she was trying to look back on herself though it wasn't really possible. When he slapped her then she cried out as the smack shot straight through her body and it added to what she was feeling between them. But when he moved his hands back to her she said, "This… this isn't enough," as she suddenly started to miss the rough friction between them.

"Then… get up," Castle told her seriously. "Get up love and ride me."

At that Beckett pushed herself up though she had to stop; trying to remind herself the friction between them was going to be much better that way. Breathing a little deeply as she felt her husband's hands clasp together at the small of her back she saw his desire in his nearly blackened eyes and proceeded to push herself up and down. Crying out in joy as the friction they generated was far easier to feel that way she told him, "I don't think I can stop you… y-you're out of control Rick."

"I fucking am," Castle said through slightly clenched teeth. He then began to move his hand around, wanting to feel her while he could as he had access then to the front of her body. He loved the feel of her skin again but his hands naturally gravitated to her breasts. He groaned when she immediately reacted to his touch by leaning into his hands and he breathed out in Irish as they filled his palms in the way he'd come to love since their first night together.

"So you… love me… all of me?" Beckett whispered to him as she pulled back to watch him return to caressing her breasts.

"These too," Castle said seriously. "You're like a sculpture come to life," he whispered. "Every inch of you…" He closed his eyes tightly and let out the loudest groan of frustration that he'd ever heard from himself before he heard his wife speaking; telling him to tell her what was going through his mind. He still hesitated and was surprised when she leaned back down; nearly going back to the position they'd had before; to kiss her. But she soon pulled away and he could see her encouragement in her eyes, making him want to tell her. He waited until she was back above him before he spoke telling her, "You're mine Kate, aren't you? All… fucking… mine."

Gasping and saying his name in a slightly stilted cadence as he was ramming up into her with his hands on her hips holding her still for that purpose Beckett couldn't answer at first as there was too much to deal with. His length trying to get deeply within her, his hands gripping her skin and his hips slamming against her were nearly more than she could stand. But she just managed to keep herself from falling over the edge and she panted as she spoke to him telling her husband, "I am… you're mine though… I want you… all to myself."

"You have me," Castle promised, giving up on his resolution to stay lying down. He sat up and they began to hungrily kiss, the sensation of her around him still so pleasurable he was sure if she wanted him to he'd weep at the fact that she was the one doing all that to him. When they parted he kissed around her neck, feeling her pulse racing beneath the skin before he slowly moved back and they stared into each other's eyes intently as time slipped away from them. He had no idea how long they were doing that, only aware that they couldn't keep up the staring or caressing; which they'd started to do as his hands had ached to feel her breasts again. "Come for me Kate," he whispered hotly to her, pressing his lips close to hers. "I can feel you… you feel amazing… my goddess, my love. Come now, I won't stop wanting you just like this. _Now_ Kate."

The intensity of her husband's tone was what drew Beckett closer to the edge, the fact that he then angled her hips down by hand was the last straw and she lost it. Her back arched as she froze for an infinitesimal amount of time before she was starting to scream and writhe. Eventually she realized that she was calling out her husband's name; feeling what their bodies were naturally doing to each other; and she told him, "Oh god Rick, don't, don't stop fucking me. I want to feel you so deep inside me… you feel perfect here inside of me… come with me again! Make me come again please."

Castle was startled at the quasi command in her begging but he decided that he had no choice, mostly because once he heard that he wasn't going to stop after they'd calmed down. So before they could do that he was letting her thrust as she'd been before he'd moved her body and then reached down with his right hand to begin fondling her clit. At the same time he was leaning down to take her left nipple with his mouth and his left hand was palming her right breast as she nearly screamed out to him. He was pleased with the results of that for a moment before he was groaning as he realized how much pleasure that provided. He switched his hand and his mouth once, only having time to do that because she lost it very rapidly again. He followed her eagerly, stopping his extra ministrations on her so he could hold her and feel besides where they were coupled what he did to her in her orgasm. He was the last of them to stop moving and as soon as he had he collapsed on the bed though he kept his right hand on the small of her back. "Kate…" he breathed out, looking up at her.

Leaning down Beckett kissed her husband deeply before she slowly pulled away and sighed as she moved off of him. With his arms wrapped around her she said, "I needed that."

"Me too," Castle said as he began to stroke her hair, her cheek to his shoulder. "Love, something I wanted to ask you and I hope you don't mind that I do," he began. When she made a soft noise that he knew was meant to encourage him to ask he said, "What was with you and Patrick earlier outside the White House. He said exhausted?"

"That was something we teased each other about," Beckett said with a smile. She felt her husband move his head to look at her so she explained, "We were open about sex, not details open but open. So we eventually talked about pleasuring ourselves as my experience with sex up to then was not good and his wasn't either and very spaced out. We joked about how he'd get hairy palms and tried to figure out what I'd have-"

"Fingertips?" Castle suggested.

Beckett laughed and said, "That's what we came up with too. But after that we would meet at the academy and ask; in Russian; how the night before was and we'd always use exhausted as a code for the fact we'd gone crazy pleasuring ourselves even if we hadn't. Another joke since he said he was only aroused enough for once but I told him if I pushed myself I could go twice… or three or four times."

"Yeah, the way you can come back is amazing," Castle told her. He smiled when she laughed and he told her seriously, "That's another thing."

"Hmm," Beckett said, knowing he was referring then to their discussion about what he felt was goddess-like about her. "If you're referencing sculptures again…"

"No, they don't laugh but their smiles don't really compare," Castle said quickly. "They can't. And yes," he said as he quickly reached down on her. "I'm deliberately kissing your ass."

Beckett moaned at that as he squeezed her gently but she then reached up to him to pull him down to kiss her, pleased when he did so passionately. At the same time she made him turn over onto her before they both suddenly paused at the same time. "I'm getting it," she said instantly before she reached over for the book.

Following her as she was flipping through the beginning pages Castle couldn't wait and he then started to kiss over her back. Something struck him then and he slid down to her ass, hearing the gasp of his wife when he kissed it a few times and then went back up to her whispering, "I really was then."

"This one," Beckett said, showing him one they'd done before. When he merely nodded she smiled and put the book away before she kissed him deeply. They soon were coupled together again and she cried out at the sensation before she had to speak. "I love you Rick," she said earnestly.

"I love you Kate," Castle replied. "Always my love. Promise me I can have you always," he then told her huskily.

"Hmm… always," Beckett sighed as he proceeded to move unable to say no to him and not wanting to. She could feel his love for her in each thrust and she wrapped her arms around him as tightly as she could to show him as well. At that point they let their passion take them over for as long as they could take it that night and she fell into it delightedly, knowing her husband was following her in that emotion to her complete joy.


	28. The World Wild Applies

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: The lyrics in this chapter are from the song _End of the Line_ by the Traveling Wilburys (Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, George Harrison, Roy Orbison), from their album _Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1_.

A/N #2: It was great to get what I did for the last chapter so will get to my thanks yous for that feedback! TORONTOSUN (Wanted to write them at the White House, couldn't see them not going there in any way. And yeah, lol, since it was the Air and Space Museum I thought Skye and Mary would have fun as well. So glad that you enjoyed the love scenes at the end and that you loved the fact that Castle and Beckett enjoyed them so much!), MichelleBell16 (I was really happy to read that you've enjoyed the last chapters! And I'm not surprised you enjoyed the fact that you like the fact Castle and Beckett are reunited with their family plus spending time with their friends in the city too. Really glad you can't wait to read more and now you don't need to anymore!), vetgirlmx (Great to see that you thought the last chapter was very nice. And I was glad that I could surprise you with the VIP tour at the White House, it pays to have connections like that of course, lol, especially for that. But great you enjoyed Skye being asked for an autograph as I figure it'd get out she was inspiration for a character since people knew that Beckett was too. And I'm not surprised you liked how Skye and Castle were explaining things at the museum, I figure those two would be good for that, lol, and yeah I was definitely trying to make it so they looked like they were having fun! I had been wondering what you'd think of the conversation between Julia and Skye so it was great to see you loved it. But nice to see you can imagine she would ask that since she's getting curious as she's getting older which is why I had her ask a more serious question. Also yeah, I figure since she knows Skye it'll make things easier for her if she realizes that's who she is. And I thought you might like that Beckett was so concerned for her after her talk with Skye; I thought that she would definitely be like that. And I had to laugh at what you think their reaction might be but I can definitely see why you think that. Pleased to see you can't wait for their trip to the zoo too and now you don't need to do so anymore!) and Guest (It was nice to see you thought that a lot of nice stuff has happened in the last chapters. I'm not surprised that you too think it's great Jim will move in with them eventually. And you make a good point with Beckett talking to Julia after Julia talks to Skye; it does mean that she can talk to her about anything at all. Happy to see you can't wait for the next chapters and now you don't need to!). Thanks so much for the reviews I got, I loved reading them as usual and am grateful for you all taking the time to write them out and send them to me!

A/N #3: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _Wild Life_ by Paul and Linda McCartney, from the Wings album _Wild Life_.

The World Wild Applies

Holding his wife tightly as she was crying out his name heavily Castle kissed her where he could a few times before he just watched her riding out her orgasm. Her body was undulating in his hold while his left hand was stroking at her clit gently and repeatedly until she finally was still. He murmured that he loved her before he kissed her as hard as he could; their tongues curling around each other that let him know she wasn't quite exhausted. He was relieved at that before he carefully pulled away saying, "You're amazing love."

Laughing breathily Beckett said softly, "I would say you are. Oh god Rick, that was… fantastic."

"I had to give you exactly what you gave me," Castle said, reaching up and caressing her cheek lovingly before he murmured that he loved her.

Beckett was able to reply to that just in time before her alarm went off and she sighed with him before she sat up first. She kissed him lovingly once he had joined her and she reluctantly got off of the bed. As she dressed with him she bit her lower lip a few times, still feeling his fingers and the echo of her climax. When she had her shoes on she tried to shake those thoughts from her but instead said, "Next time we do that we need to use our mouths."

Startled Castle said, "Right… you make a great point."

Unable to help smiling at his slightly delayed speech Beckett said, "Sorry I wanted to say that but you enjoyed my hand?"

"Definitely and you mine?" Castle asked her.

Her only response to that was to smirk at him and Beckett walked over to the entry to pull on her coat. "So when we get there everyone else should be too," she said as he then joined her, looking a little calmer.

"Let's hope I don't think the girls are going to be able to wait," Castle commented. Before they left; after he'd gotten himself ready; he reached for her and was pleased when she was there at his touch. He wrapped his arms around her as tightly as he possibly could before he murmured into her ear, "If we don't come together tonight I'd like to maybe try and finish up my journal?"

With a slight smile at his phrasing of their intimacy Beckett turned her head so she could look at him and asked, "How many are left?"

"Just three," Castle replied.

"Alright," Beckett replied with a nod. "Now you can kiss me."

"Gladly," Castle said quickly before he bent his head slightly and kissed her hard. They were holding onto one another even tighter than they'd been before he ran his hands all over her back as they allowed themselves a second kiss. He wasn't sure how long in the end they were kissing one another but once they'd parted and stayed apart his lips were throbbing in pleasurable discomfort. "I'd say I love you again but I just did…" he began.

" _I love you_ Rick," Beckett murmured to him, brushing her lips against his.

" _I love you too_ Kate," Castle said quickly. He kissed her but kept it very quick before they slowly parted and taking her hand he led her over to the door so they could leave and pick up their family.

* * *

"Have you been here before Mommy?" Julia asked.

"No we didn't get to this zoo," Beckett replied with a smile.

"We were more interested in taking your mother to the museums," Jim said as they were waiting in front of the entrance to the zoo in the northwest of the city. "So this will be nice for all of us."

Since his father in law was looking at him Castle said quickly, "We were never here either. We're all new to this."

"Mommy, Daddy!" Eliza cried suddenly then.

Looking over to where she was pointing Beckett smiled as she saw her friend with his family and Skye and Mary with them as well. She walked over to them and wrapped her arms tightly around Darnley telling him, "How was it?"

"Fun, my in laws are resting so they let us come," he told her. He then said, "Bethany wants to give you a big send off so she's concentrating on dinner."

"That should be nice," Beckett said before she followed his gaze to the stroller where Maddy was. She smiled at the sight of the baby's eyes wide as she listened to Eliza telling her about swimming the night before. She then told her friend quickly about what the toddler had told them before about the baby and said, "She seems to be set on it."

"It sounds like it," Darnley said with a smile. "I hope though that when they get older she'll keep to it."

"She probably will," Beckett said with a nod. "We should go," she said before going to Nkosi and greeting him with a quick hug. She did the same to the McDouglases and said, "Sorry about that, I wanted to say hello to him."

"Of course, you leave tomorrow," Skye said. They walked over to the entrance then and she said, "Did he tell you about our dinner?"

"He did," Beckett said with a smile. "I just wonder how it's going to go with so many of us again."

"Fun," Skye said before they then laughed together.

At that moment Julia was looking behind them at the entrance since they were inside and she said to her father that she was walking with, "Don't we have to pay?"

"No," Castle said with a smile, not surprised that she'd noticed. "It's free."

"But… didn't Skye tell you yesterday that she was going to take care of it today?" Julia then asked.

"She meant lunch," Castle answered. He smiled as the little girl smiled before he said, "But did you hear what Patrick was telling your mother?"

"About dinner?" Julia asked. When her father nodded she said, "Yeah I did, why?"

"Thank them when we go," Castle told her quietly as they were soon reaching the first animals.

"I will," Julia promised before she hurried ahead of him to reach the railing to look at the habitat. She saw that one of the cheetahs was there and she giggled as her sister cried out, pointing it out to Maddy.

"I think you got his attention darling," Martha said in amusement as the animal looked up.

"Do you see the one on that tree?" Beckett then pointed out to the toddler.

"Ooh, I do Mommy!" Eliza gasped in joy. "Is he sleeping?"

"I think so," Beckett said, wrapping her arm around her daughter after taking a picture of the animal. "What do you think?" she asked her.

"It's pretty," Eliza said firmly. She then looked over at Maddy, seeing she was out of her stroller and in her father's arms. She looked at her mother and then said, "Mommy?"

"Yes sweetie?" Beckett asked her.

"Can… can we go with Patrick and Maddy later?" Eliza asked shyly.

Beckett reached for the toddler's hand which she was starting to bring up to her mouth and said, "By ourselves?" When Eliza nodded she smiled and said, "That could be arranged."

"We can?" the toddler asked hopefully.

"Definitely," Castle said, coming over to them and hearing that. He kissed his wife's cheek before he picked up Eliza and said, "I was thinking of taking Julia so we could go alone too."

"What about our parents?" Beckett asked as they were walking over to the next animal.

"I… will have to ask them," Castle said slowly.

Smiling Beckett said, "I'm sure they'll go with Trevor… and Skye and Mary. There are a lot of us here."

"There are," Castle said before they heard Maddy squealing suddenly. He saw the zebras ahead of them and said, "Maybe she likes horses too?"

"I don't think so Daddy," Julia said, having ended up with them as they were walking. "She probably really, really likes animals."

"Probably," Castle said with a nod. He then smiled and said, "Let me talk to my mother."

Beckett smiled at her husband as he went over to where Martha was holding Maddy in her arms, pointing out the zebras before she said to Skye and Mary next to them, "Eliza wants-"

"She wants you to go off alone together," Skye interrupted her with a smile. "I was able to hear we weren't all that far apart. And I believe my wife and I will go off on our own as well."

"To snog," Mary said under her breath.

" _Grá_ ," Skye said in annoyance.

"She knows what that means," Mary said in mock indignation.

"I do too," Julia said with a smile. She then asked the two women as they walked around to some antelope with long antlers, "Are you really going to do that?"

"We might steal a few kisses here and there," Skye said, squeezing her shoulder with her hand briefly. "But we'll want to see the animals of course. I have this."

"That's such a cool camera," Julia said in awe as she watched the investigator take a shot of one of the animals grazing near them.

"It is but it took me quite a while to get used to this," Skye told her. "So if you got one like this it might take you a while to learn how to use all of it."

Glancing at her camera in her hands Julia said, "I think I like mine a lot better now."

"Good to hear," Skye said. "Go on, your dad's calling you."

"Hey we completely forgot something," Castle said once Julia was with them.

"Breakfast!" Eliza said exuberantly when her sister just looked at them in confusion.

"Oh… that's right," Julia said, her stomach choosing that moment to growl a little. "So what are we going to do?"

"We'll get something small; you had that fruit that was in your room right?" Beckett asked.

"Apples," the girls said at the same time; Julia nodding since Eliza had already done that answering their parents' question before.

"Then we'll grab something a little… sweet?" Castle suggested.

"Small," Beckett said. "And not sweet," she added. "We really don't need them hyper."

"Alright come on and I'll treat-" Castle started to say.

"Mary and I are treating us all to some oatmeal," Skye interrupted him, having just told Darnley and Nkosi about breakfast.

"They have that?" Castle asked.

"For a while we need to hurry," Mary said. "Are we ready?"

"Yeah, let's go," Nkosi said, bouncing Maddy as she was holding onto his ear.

The group walked over to the snack cart that was on the way to the next animals and they got cups of oatmeal before gathering at a few tables in the middle of some trees.

"So this zoo is big," Castle said. "Bigger than the last one we went to."

"Central Park? I've been there before," Darnley asked in surprise.

"That would be San Diego," Skye said before Castle could. She smiled and said, "This is a larger park but it's a bit different there…"

"More open," Beckett explained as she could see her friend didn't know what the woman was talking about. "You have a few more buildings here."

"I've heard," Nkosi said. He then looked at his husband who was feeding their daughter oatmeal and said, "We should take her when she's a year or two older."

"I know," Darnley said. "But we have time to figure that out. For now she's enjoying it here. Aren't you honey?"

Maddy nodded and then said, "Dada."

"What is it Maddy?" Darnley asked her with a smile.

"Ama… ma," the baby said seriously, not realizing that everyone was watching her to listen to her.

"She wants to see more animals?" Eliza said though she didn't sound very sure of that.

"I thought the same thing," Julia told her sister with a nod.

"I think so," Nkosi said. "She says that now when she sees dogs."

"Why don't you have a doggie?" Eliza asked. "You should," she said firmly before anyone could say anything to that.

"I'm afraid we're not home enough for that," Darnley answered first. "And we're going to likely get Keo very soon and he's still a baby. So if we got a dog we would have to wait until he was older at least."

"Alright," Castle said when he saw that Eliza was going to protest that idea. "I think we're ready for what's up next… which is what?"

Smiling as her husband looked at her Beckett said, "I don't have the map."

"The Small Mammal House," Jim said. When his granddaughters looked at him he told them, "I have no idea what's in there but I'm as eager as you to see."

"Let's go now," Julia said. When her mother looked at her she told her, "I looked and everyone's done Mommy."

"They are," Beckett said, seeing that she was right. "Let Skye and Mary lead the way, they know where they're going."

Darnley was surprised since he and Nkosi were the DC natives of the group but as soon as he thought that he realized why she'd said that. He let his husband take their daughter ahead with the others as he and Beckett threw away the last of the trash from the meal. "What is it?" he asked her.

"What would you say to going with me and Eliza after lunch for a while?" Beckett asked instead of answering. "With Maddy."

"That'd be nice," Darnley said. He smiled and told her, "I had thought of that when you told me about what Eliza said… did she ask or did you think of it?"

"She asked," Beckett replied. She then looped her arm through her friend's loosely and told him, "Rick and I talked about our joke last night. The Russian joke."

Darnley immediately smiled at their name for the joke as it was easier to recall that way and said, "Did he mind we did that?"

"Why would he care?" Beckett asked him with one eyebrow slightly raised.

"He doesn't mind you talked to me about this stuff?" Darnley asked her.

"Would you answer a question?" Beckett said.

"How about you answer one?" Darnley said in mock annoyance. He and Beckett then burst into laughter together and he said, "Really, we were open…"

"No he doesn't mind," Beckett assured him. "I told him we never got aroused and never started to doing weird stuff to ourselves during that time."

"Those were fun times," Darnley replied. He then said, "How are you?"

Beckett was surprised and saw they were getting close to the next building before she smiled slightly and told him, "I miss her still."

"I could tell," Darnley replied with a quick nod. "But now you have this."

"I honestly had no idea I'd have daughters," Beckett said as she'd confessed once to her friend that she had hoped to have at least one daughter. She'd always thought it would make her feel closer to her mother though she assured him she didn't care in the slightest what the gender of her child or children would be in the end; it'd be up to the chromosomes to see what she would have and she'd still love them greatly.

"So you and Rick-" Darnley started to say. Before he could finish that question though they'd gotten to the building and he had to turn his attention to the others as they were going inside. He then told her, "When we're walking I want to see our daughters interact."

Smiling Beckett said, "I'm going to film it so their big sister can see."

"It shocks me a little you're a stepmother too," Darnley said.

"You'll meet Alexis," Beckett assured him as quickly as she could speak as she knew that was what he wasn't saying. "When you come over."

"We will, I don't want to lose touch," Darnley replied.

Beckett wanted to ask him something but held back as they reached their family at the first animal they'd stopped at for more than just a quick look. When she saw what was there in the branches, a golden lion tamarin, she said with a smile at the girls who were oohing and awing over it, "You two have seen these before."

"But they're sooo cute!" Julia protested before she looked up at her mother who'd come to stand next to her and they laughed together. She took a few pictures before she tugged on her mother's hand and when she was looking at her again whispered, "Can we go ahead of everyone here?"

"I was going to go alone with you later," Beckett said.

"We don't have a lot of time and just here is fine," Julia said.

"Hold on," Beckett said, hugging her with one arm very quickly. She then went over to her husband and whispered to him their oldest's request.

"That's alright, go ahead," Castle said. When he saw the others were looking at them he explained, "Julia and Kate will go ahead; they'll meet us here at the entrance."

When everyone else; even Eliza and Maddy; agreed to that Beckett tried not to laugh at the baby just babbling to go along with everyone else. "We'll see you, we're going to head counter clockwise," she let them know.

"Twice since we're gonna meet at the entrance," Julia said as she'd been listening to them. She took her mother's hand and together they walked back the way they'd come until they reached some long tailed chinchillas. "Oh Mommy, you can get these in pet stores," she said eagerly.

"Not those exactly," Beckett corrected her. "But they do have those for sale."

"Can… no?" Julia started to say after she'd taken a picture of the little rodent like mammals.

"I'm sorry, you know Macca and Rita would be too… interested in them," Beckett said.

Grimacing as she recalled that Macca had once killed a mouse they'd come across in some bushes on a walk Julia said, "Bleh I think you're right."

"But we have two very nice pets," Beckett said. "Let's keep going."

"They're not gonna catch up," Julia said with a smile as they walked to the next animal. "Eliza and Maddy are going to take forever to look at them."

"Probably," Beckett said. "That made her think of something and she said, "Do you mind that?"

"No," Julia said quickly as she knew her mother was talking about her sister and the baby being friends. "Maddy's just a baby and I'm almost ten."

"Don't remind me," Beckett said jokingly. She was slightly startled when her daughter hugged her tightly and she said, "Don't worry; I know you're going to have a birthday but you're growing up."

"Still your little girl," Julia said firmly.

"Alright," Beckett said smiling at her before the little girl relaxed. "You always will be sweetie."

"I have a friend like Patrick is your friend," Julia said then when they stopped in front of the naked mole rats. "Mari is like that."

"She is," Beckett said.

"And we will probably talk about adult stuff," Julia commented after they'd been looking at the bare rodents for a while. When her mother looked at her in shock she grinned widely and told her, "Kissing."

"Oh… I'm not surprised," Beckett said, recovering quickly. She playfully pinched her daughter's side and they continued on to the next animal, taking pictures together as they made their way around back to where they'd entered the building. They did pass the others, at the black tailed prairie dogs where they remained for a while as all three children were too enchanted with the animals and the black footed ferrets who shared the exhibit though they never met.

"She really doesn't want to walk further with you?" Castle said in surprise as his wife told him what she and Julia had talked about.

"No, so I hope you'll see something bigger," Beckett said.

"You two could spend more time together," Castle said. "Swim?"

"Eliza would never let us," Beckett said with a slight smile though the idea appealed to her greatly.

"Just ask her Katie," Jim said, smiling as the two looked at him, startled. "She'd be fine with it especially since we can play cards with her."

Beckett thought about that and she nodded before saying, "I'll ask later. We should keep going; I wanted them to see the O Line."

"You've heard of that," Darnley said, going to them with Maddy.

"Of course, this is a famous zoo," Beckett replied, letting the baby take her fingers as she smiled at her.

"She was saying Kee so I had to bring her over," Darnley explained.

"She was saying that to me too," Jim said as he'd carried her a little while they'd been walking to that point through the building. "She knows you well now."

"I might be mentioning your name a lot," Darnley then said. "Like… constantly."

"Memories?" Castle asked. When the man nodded he said, "She's been doing the same which is understandable."

"We should go," Nkosi said then. "We have much more to see."

"Right we'll see you back at the entrance," Darnley said. He smiled when Castle and Beckett kissed quickly before he said, "So you love your wife sir."

Laughing at the man's tone Castle said, "You're not her brother so I'm not scared of you anymore. But yes, that's correct I do."

"Lots," Eliza said as she'd heard them.

"Low!" Maddy gasped, the gasp coming from her spotting the next animal.

With some laughter the group looked into the exhibit then as they started to make their way around themselves.

"I think that sounds nice," Julia said, her mother telling her Castle's idea. "And Eliza would do that since she's gotten to swim with you back at home a ton of times. Also Mommy there's nothing we can do here really."

"That's true," Beckett said, knowing her daughter meant the fact they couldn't play games in the hotel pool. "So would you be okay with just swimming?"

"I want to race," Julia insisted. "And maybe just… sit and talk?"

"I would love to do that," Beckett said. She wrapped her arm around her daughter and they smiled at each other as they began continued on to the next animal. She found as they walked that she was looking forward to the time spent with both her daughters though it was a bit longer until she could swim with Julia. She then focused her attention on Julia at that moment to take advantage of the time left in that building before they regrouped for the second time.

"Mommy!" Eliza said, trying to walk quickly over to her mother when she saw her and Julia at the entrance. She was holding Maddy's hand then so she couldn't go too fast but didn't mind as Beckett came over to her. "We saw everything," she told her as she watched the baby grab onto her tightly.

"Kee! Up," Maddy told her.

"Hold on," Beckett said, beginning to put her camera over her head when her father took it from her. Holding the baby on her hip she kissed Maddy's temple and said, "Hopefully you don't mind."

"She doesn't," Darnley said as his friend had looked to him in reaction to that kiss. "Okay Julia and Eliza, we're going to be seeing something very interesting you might be stunned by," he directed to the girls.

Laughing when the two looked to her and Mary, Skye said, "He's telling the truth; remember he lives here so he's been to this zoo."

Starting to walk that way Eliza was holding onto her mother's hand as they walked with Darnley and she looked up saying, "Is she heavy?"

"No," Beckett said reassuringly. She looked back ahead of them and shared a smile with Darnley before she said to the three girls; since Julia was with Castle on the other side of her sister; "Look up there, what is that?"

Following the direction their mother was pointing Julia managed to see what she was talking about but before she could react Eliza was doing so.

"Is it a monkey!" the toddler cried out as she could see one climbing over two lines between the building they were going to and another.

"It's an orangutan," Darnley replied.

"They call this the O-Line," Castle said. "They're taking it to that other building they call the Think Tank but we'll go there after this one."

"Ooh… do they fall?" Eliza asked worriedly.

"Don't they do that where they're from?" Julia said after taking another picture.

"They do, they're climbers," Castle said. "So they know what they're doing Eliza, don't worry."

Going into the building then the two families split up as Maddy began to reach out for the gorillas that she saw first. Skye and Mary headed over to a bench where they sat down, talking together as they watched the baby near them with her fathers. Castle and Beckett took their girls over to the orangutans while their parents trailed behind, talking as Jim took a few shots.

"What is in the other place you go to," Eliza was eventually saying to a primate that came up to her. "Do you go to school?" She couldn't help giggle as it looked at her and then seemed to purse its lips.

"Kate-" Castle started to say then.

"I took a picture," Beckett said as right when he was speaking their youngest was pretending to kiss the primate.

"Would you kiss a… primate?" Julia asked, remembering what the building was called before she called it a monkey.

"I wouldn't," Castle said, shaking his head. "Much rather would kiss your mother."

"Would you kiss Patrick instead of him," Eliza asked, pointing to the orangutan that was leaving her then.

"Between those two," Castle said, looking at Darnley who was walking up to them with all the others. "Patrick of course."

"Glad to provide an alternative," Darnley said, laughing as he then handed Maddy to Martha who had come over to them.

After they'd gone around the building Darnley and Nkosi took them into the Think Tank building where they looked at an exhibit on rats and their thinking abilities before they reached the orangutans. There were two and a zoo employee was standing at a computer screen talking to the people that were there already.

Castle was surprised when the woman suddenly walked over to them and he looked over at his wife, realizing they'd just been recognized. But to his surprise the woman then went over to Darnley and shook his hand before introducing him to the room.

"I wanted to see if you could come up and help me with our experiment today," the woman said.

"Sure," Darnley said, smiling at Beckett. "But if it has anything to do with words I would ask these two to help."

"Then why don't I have all three of you come up," the woman said. "I just had an idea for something we can add to this experiment. First you Detective Darnley," she said. "What I'd like to do," she told the room at large as they went over to where there was a screen. "Is to see if three different people can evoke different reactions from Kiko and Iris here. We're testing their memory," she then directed to Darnley and also speaking for Castle and Beckett. "We'd like you to show them an object and they'll need to see if they can remember the symbol we've devised for them that's one of many symbols on the screen they have inside. When they've picked something out we'll see it here."

Beckett looked at Maddy as her father was showing one of the orangutans that was paying attention a rubber toy ball. The baby's eyes widened as the primate pressed its finger to the Plexiglas and then she watched with the others as it moved to what she guessed was the screen.

"Right, very good Kiko," the employee said. "You can see that she recalls this toy of theirs, the symbol curved like an arch like the way the top of the ball does. Iris," she then said as a ball similar to the one Darnley was holding was rolled into the habitat. "Iris can we have you tell us what this is?"

Feeling a little strange holding up the fake apple, Darnley couldn't help smiling back at his daughter when she suddenly squealed.

The orangutan seemed to hear the squeal as well and they looked at the screen before tapping two symbols.

"Oh… it looks like she remembers two other words," the employee said with a slight laugh. "This one is our word for doll which is another object we show them and this one is the word for yell or cry. So she in fact heard…"

"My daughter," Darnley said.

"So that was very good, we'll still give her a treat for answering," the woman said. "Thank you," she said, muting her microphone then before she motioned to Castle to switch places with them. "Kids, I know some of your parents might know who this is," she then said, looking to the crowd around them. "But you might not so this is Richard Castle; he and his wife Kate Beckett," she said after glancing to Beckett who nodded to her. "Are writers so they're very good with words. But Mr. Darnley is a detective so his stance and body language may evoke something different from Iris and Kiko."

Taking the toy plane Castle couldn't help laugh and nodded over to Skye saying, "This would be her purview." But he then looked over at the orangutan that was in front of him, tapping the screen.

"She got it right, we have a symbol for plane and they know this one very well as we've made them think of the O Line out there going across to the Great Ape House," the woman said.

"Are you Julia?" a little girl was asking her then in the crowd watching.

"Yeah," Julia said in surprise.

"She's a writer too!" the little girl then called.

"That's your daughter?" the employee was asking Beckett who was switching places with her husband.

"You'll let her hold the objects?" Beckett replied. When the woman nodded she smiled and said, "Julia," holding her hand out to her.

Feeling as if her cheeks were on fire Julia hurried to her mother before the employee was handing her a hammer. She turned her attention to the orangutan, the female one named Iris, as she didn't want to look behind her and see everyone looking at her.

The employee watched as the orangutan watched Julia and instead of putting up the symbol for the word tool she smiled as it put the symbol for doll again. "Well, it seems Iris knows that this is her daughter," she said as the kids oohed at that. "She's got a boy orangutan herself and he's over in the Great Ape House so she might notice the connection between a human mother and child and recognize it."

When the employee thanked them for their help and the people watching applauded them Julia wasn't surprised when they came over to her and her mother before their father joined them, asking for autographs.

"Do you mind?" Beckett asked her daughter as she hadn't signed too many still. She was surprised when Julia shook her head so she grabbed Martha's arm since she was near her and told her quickly to go ahead to take everyone to where they were going to eat lunch. She and Castle then signed papers with their daughter before they finally could stop and leave the building.

"So, what do you think?" Castle asked the little girl.

"My hand hurts," Julia said though she was laughing. "Isn't my signing going to change when I get older?"

"But you are writing at this moment," Castle said with a slight smile.

"Why did you want to sign sweetie?" Beckett then asked.

"Well I saw all the kids that were looking at me; they knew who I was," Julia explained. "I couldn't tell them no."

"That was very sweet of you," Beckett said, wrapping her arm around her. "Rick, let her pick wherever she wants to go after lunch."

"I'll be glad to," Castle said before they reached the restaurant and could see that the others were at a table waiting for them already. He smiled when Julia squeezed his hand tightly and they went to order so they could sit down and eat with them.

* * *

"Frankly I'm shocked," Darnley said. When he saw the way Beckett looked to him he laughed and said, "That you didn't use a stroller much with Eliza. How did you carry her?"

"A sling once she got older," Beckett replied. "It felt more natural to do it that way."

"Did Rick use it?" Darnley asked as they were walking to what was called Lemur Island from the restaurant after lunch.

"Mmm-hmm," Beckett said. "Sweetie don't walk so close to the stroller."

"That's why she signs papers," Eliza was saying to Maddy. "She writes books too. Well, just one but she wants to do that again." She listened to the baby babbling and giggled saying, "I can't write yet but maybe when I'm bigger I can."

"Girls," Beckett told the two. "We're here."

"Ooh look, there they are now!" Eliza said eagerly.

"Can you hold her hand?" Darnley said after taking his daughter out of the stroller.

"Yeah she's kay," Eliza told him seriously as she nodded her head.

Walking after the two with him Beckett murmured to her friend, "She spoke with you?"

For a moment Darnley was confused as to what she was talking about before he recalled what she'd told him at lunch briefly. "She did, I was surprised but meeting her I did get a certain… vibe. It's how I could tell your husband was metro."

"Did that surprise you?" Beckett asked with a smile as she took some pictures, the two girls in front of them enthralled by the ring tailed lemurs they could see.

"It did until I realized that he was going to line up with you a little more and hopefully appreciate you more," Darnley said. "But back to her, I get the feeling she could be."

"That's what Skye said," Beckett said softly.

"We talked about that in the Small Mammals building," Darnley said with a nod. "Because your husband asked if I was aware of what you two had noticed. She'll be alright, with what Skye's said to her and you two wanting to do the best for her if she is… if she does feel that way," he said, correcting himself as he kept his eye on Eliza and Maddy. "If she wants to talk to me again though I don't have a problem doing that."

"Neither do we," Beckett said firmly. She then smiled and said, "If you're going to ask if I regret adopting her now I know she may feel that way I'm going to slap you."

"Point taken," Darnley replied, knowing that was a heavily empty threat. "I'm just glad you're more understanding."

"Mommy," Eliza said as she went over to them then, helping Maddy. "Can we see something else now?"

"Great, I was hoping you might want to see the farm," Darnley said then.

"Farm?" Eliza said. She giggled when Maddy said, "Fa?" and she then gasped saying, "Horsies?"

"I'm afraid not," Darnley said. "Definitely your daughter," he said quickly to Beckett. "But they've got cows and alpacas, other animals too."

"Do you want to see that?" Eliza asked Maddy as the baby toddled over to Beckett.

Hearing the way she was babbling as his friend picked Maddy up Darnley smiled and said, "I think that's a yes."

"It is," Beckett said in amusement. They walked back the way they'd come; knowing that everyone but the McDouglases were at the Reptile Discovery Center while that couple was somewhere around the Amazonia building. She saw the barn and pointed it out to Eliza who she was holding saying, "I'm going to guess everyone's inside?"

"They might be outside," Darnley replied, pushing his daughter again in her stroller. "You never know since the day isn't that bad."

"Cows!" Eliza cried as she saw one standing near a fence.

"They're out," Darnley said. He stopped the stroller and took Maddy out before joining Beckett at the railing where they watched the animals inside the enclosure with their daughters. "Here they come," he told the baby as one of the cows was walking over to them. "Remember what they say honey?" he asked her.

Beckett smiled as her friend kissed Maddy's temple when she began to attempt to moo and said as she switched with Darnley who was holding Eliza, "The best thing I've loved; besides obviously seeing you again? Seeing you as a father since we talked about that before of course."

Darnley laughed and said, "The same for me, though it took me a little to see you with them. Though I can't forget I did get a hint of it when I saw how you were with Maddy of course."

"I love you Mommy," Eliza said then.

"I love you too," Beckett said.

"Can I go down?" Eliza asked.

"She sees everyone else that's here," Beckett said with a smile before she then set her down. "No, no," she said as Eliza tried to pull away from her. "You're staying with us." She wasn't surprised when the toddler stomped her foot and said simply, "Elizabeth."

Pouting the toddler calmed down then as they began to walk and said, "I wanted to go, sorry Mommy."

"It's okay sweetie," Beckett assured her. "Can I let you go?" When Eliza nodded she did so and watched her walk a little ahead of them.

"Nice, you know I always thought being a detective would help me out if it came to that when Maddy gets older," Darnley said to her as they reached the alpacas.

"It helps to a degree," Beckett replied.

"Keeping your temper under control?" Darnley asked. When she nodded he laughed and said, "I thought the same thing." His daughter was struggling in his arms then and he said, "Eliza? She wants to go with you but don't let her get too close to the animals."

Taking a few pictures Beckett said to her friend, "You're sure you want to go tomorrow?"

"She might not understand what she's looking at," Darnley said as he nodded his head. "But we want to show her as much as we can as she grows up. You know it's important."

"We did the same for her," Beckett said, nodding her head towards Eliza. "Took her to the museums in NYC and everything, as Rick likes to say."

Walking around the rest of that section Beckett and Darnley spoke to each other while their daughters were looking at the different animals. They also spoke about the idea to keep the two in touch with each other, deciding how it would be best to do that before they were going back to see the Sumatran Tigers where they would be meeting their family to begin making their way through the rest of the zoo all together.

* * *

"Alright here is the flooded forest," Nkosi was saying. "I think it is self explanatory."

"The aminals still live there?" Eliza asked him.

"They do," Nkosi said. "It is what they are used to." He was surprised when she raised her arms to him and picked her up so she could see everything better. "You don't take pictures yet?"

"No," Eliza said. "Sometimes but not now; Mommy and Jules do."

After they'd looked at the stingrays Julia stood with Skye in front of the giant river fish they'd reached and said, "Are you gonna sing tonight?"

"I may," the investigator said with a smile. "Did you want me to?"

"Yeah but does it have to be acoustic?" Julia asked as they then moved on.

"Not necessarily," Skye said. She took a picture of the turtles they'd stopped at and said, "I can play anything I just have to play it through their guitars since I haven't my electrics."

Castle, hearing the discussion, said, "Do you want to play yourself?"

"I don't mind it," Skye assured him. "By the way, how'd you enjoy those reptiles?"

The group wound their way through the Amazon themed building, looking at a few aquatic animals and seeing frogs as well before they left and walked to what was called the American Trail. When they came to the first animal Maddy began to squeal where she was in Jim's arms.

"She loves these," Darnley explained to everyone. "So much so that when we took her to the gift shop and she saw these," he said as he held up a stuffed sea lion before handing it to his daughter. "She cried and cried until we bought it for her."

"You should head to San Francisco as well," Mary said, her wife nodding in agreement with her. "Since of course they're all over Pier 39."

"You've seen them?" Darnley asked Castle and Beckett.

"We did, twice, but I don't think Eliza remembers them," the latter replied. "More from the Central Park Zoo."

"Of course," Darnley said with a nod. "Remember our visits?"

"Visits?" Castle asked, hearing the plural there.

"Twice, we both love zoos," Beckett replied with a smile. "Remember the time you dragged me to the Children's Zoo?"

"What did you do there?" Martha asked.

Beckett smiled and then reached for her phone saying, "One of the few pictures I do have of us." She pulled it up on her phone and then handed it to her husband saying, "When Rick told me he was going to be ending his tour in DC I looked for pictures of you," directing it to Darnley.

"I wanna see," Eliza said as her grandfather next to her was holding her mother's phone. When she saw her mother and Darnley in the turtle shell she'd taken pictures at with her sisters she beamed up at Beckett and said, "You too Mommy?"

"We did," she replied a little laughingly. They began to walk then as Nkosi was showing the picture to Maddy to distract her and Beckett said, "It was a lot of fun."

"We had a great time," Darnley said as they stopped to look at some beavers. "The same as we are now I hope." When Julia and Eliza cried out that they were and Maddy began babbling enthusiastically before she called to him he laughed and took his daughter saying, "Then the memories from this one will be nice too," looking to Beckett.

"What's next?" Julia asked then after they'd seen the last animal in that section.

"You should look ahead kiddo," Martha answered before anyone else could.

"Elephants!" Eliza said first as she was able to see the animals standing around in their habitat.

"This is a big exhibit," Nkosi said. "So what should we do?"

"You want us to say?" Julia said in surprise in response to that, seeing her sister looked to be as well.

"Yeah, go ahead," Castle said with a smile.

"Well… we can just stay here for a little and then walk around it that way," Julia said after glancing at Maddy as well as Eliza. When they were turning their attention over to the animals she went over to her mother and said, "Mommy isn't this where the pandas are?"

"Yes," Beckett said, unable to help smiling at the fact that her daughter had whispered that. "But that's the next thing we'll see okay?"

"I can't wait to see Bei Bei," Julia said with a smile. "I told Eliza about the name but she doesn't know it's here."

"You didn't tell her that?" Castle asked as he came over to stand with them.

"I want her to be surprised," Julia said firmly, making sure her sister wasn't close enough to them to hear them still.

"She probably will be," Beckett assured her.

Looking thoughtful after she'd taken a picture of one of the elephants Julia asked her parents, "Will Maddy be surprised?"

"You mean will she remember?" Beckett asked as she looked over at the baby who was standing with Eliza in front of an elephant behind the fence. "I don't think so."

Nodding Julia went over to the three girls to join them and she said to her little sister, "Is she enjoying the elephants."

"Yeah she wants to see more," Eliza said. "Does she mean aminals or these?"

"I think all the animals," Julia said. She then turned to Darnley and Nkosi nearby and asked, "How much is left?"

"You want to go over to our house already?" Darnley asked with a smile.

"Not yet," Julia said, knowing he was joking. "I'm just wondering."

"Not too much… maybe another hour," Nkosi then said for his husband. "Speaking of that I believe we need to keep going?"

"Say it different," Eliza said then.

"In…" Julia started to say to translate for her sister though she trailed off, forgetting what the name of the South African language was.

"Xhosa," Nkosi said. He then told the girls, " _Let's keep going_ ," in that language before he scooped up Maddy.

With Darnley then picking up Eliza at her begging the two men led their group around to the next exhibit, everyone trying to see the toddler's reaction when they saw the animal.

"Pandas," Eliza whispered in awe.

"Oh, not the reaction I was expecting," Castle said.

"Are you disappointed?" Jim asked.

"No I just thought we'd hear some serious squealing," Castle explained before he started to laugh. "But excuse us please…"

Seeing her parents coming up to her Eliza said to Darnley, "Can I go with my daddy?"

"Go ahead," Darnley said with a smile for her. He was startled for a moment when she kissed his cheek and said, "Thank you."

"Dada," Maddy said then, leaning over in Martha's arms where they'd been looking at the pandas in the exhibit together.

"I think she is a bit jealous," Nkosi said to his husband with a smile.

Laughing slightly Darnley said, "I think so. I can look forward to that?" he directed to Beckett.

"Yes," she replied. "Though we never really went through that with Eliza… oh wait," Beckett then said, remembering when Tommy Ryan had been at their Halloween party the year before.

"Tell me," Darnley said as Castle next to them was telling the two girls about the bears they could see.

Beckett told him the story and said, "Did you decide Keo's gender?"

"No," Nkosi said, having been listening in. "If they had suggested a girl we would have adopted her in a heartbeat."

"He's right, we just wanted a second child," Darnley replied. He felt Maddy snuggle against him and whispered to Beckett, "I love this."

"I do too," she said with a smile.

Darnley glanced over at Castle then who he saw was looking to Beckett and then was brought back to his daughter as she started to slump a little against him. "Oh… no nap today," he said to his husband. "We'll sit down near the entrance."

"I can take her if you'd like," Martha said, coming over to them.

Darnley was going to say no when his husband reached out for their daughter and he handed her over. "Why?" he asked Castle.

"She loves children," he replied with a smile.

"So does your husband," Skye said jokingly. "Alright Rick, did you tell them the pronunciation of these pandas?"

"I did," Castle said. He then grinned and said, " _You want to start talking in this language around them_?" he asked in Mandarin.

" _I think I should ask that question of you_ ," Skye said in the same language. " _They're your daughters_."

"How far can you take that?" Darnley asked, looking back and forth between the two.

"As far as possible," Castle said with a shrug. He then smiled and said to Mary, "You don't want to join in?"

"Daddy," Eliza said then before the woman could reply to that question. "Why don't you talk to the pandas?"

"Well we could but I don't know if they hear us," Castle replied.

"I think also they're a little busy eating sweetie," Beckett said as they then looked to the panda bears and saw the two there were snacking on bamboo.

Eliza wanted to insist but she then nodded and said, "Can I talk to you Daddy?"

"Yes," Castle said slightly laughingly.

The group remained there for some time, watching as one of the pandas soon finished their bamboo and began to walk around the exhibit which Julia and Eliza couldn't get enough of watching. It wasn't until both were once again eating that they left, joining Nkosi, Martha and an awake Maddy to head on to the next animals that were left there at the zoo to see.


	29. The World Wild Applies (Part 2)

"Don't hit it!" Eliza said as Maddy was holding a block in her hand. "Nooo!" she said teasingly to the baby as Maddy knocked over the tower that they'd made together. She laughed as she giggled and then hugged her before they began to gather the blocks again. They were at the Darnley-Nkosi home after finishing at the zoo and she was keeping the baby entertained while dinner was still cooking. "Want to go play in the kitchen too?"

Looking where Eliza was pointing Maddy smiled and cooed before she stood up with the toddler's help.

Watching the two involve themselves with the kitchen play set Julia then left since Nkosi was there to keep an eye on them too. She nearly ran into her mother and Darnley who were walking up to the family room and she said, "Is there something I could do?"

"There is," Darnley told her with a smile. "We were just coming to get you."

Surprised to hear that Julia took the man's hand before he led her over to a room she hadn't seen since she'd first been to the house. She looked around and then gasped in joy when she saw the posters on the wall and said, "You like The Beatles too!"

"Yep, how did you think your mom came to be a fan?" Darnley asked as he and Beckett watched her go over to the posters.

"I have this one… this is a picture I have in my mural," Julia said, smiling widely. "And then this one I don't have but I have it as a t-shirt."

"I do too," Darnley said.

"I wanted to tell you sweetie," Beckett said, smiling at Castle as he began to quickly hand her a glass of wine. She grabbed him before he could leave to let him stay and she continued saying to their eldest daughter, "Patrick and I would sit in his apartment; usually on his bed since it was a one bedroom; listening to music on this old record player he had. He had a number of Paul's albums along with George's so now you know I wasn't lying when I said that."

Julia smiled and then said to her mother, "I didn't think you were. Did you listen to music and talk?"

"About everything," Darnley said. "And we told each other what we would name our kids; if we had them."

"Cool but you didn't pick Keo's name did you?" Julia asked not noticing the slightly worried expressions on her parents' faces at what the detective had said.

"No he was already named that and we loved it," Darnley replied, looking at his friend apologetically. "But here, let me show you the albums we had…"  
" _It's okay love_ ," Castle murmured to his wife then though the other two were involved in their discussion on the albums.

" _I know_ ," Beckett replied. " _He would have changed the subject if she asked about her name_."

"Mommy, come and look," Julia was telling him then. "Hey Daddy," she said as she'd been looking away from them and hadn't noticed him there.

"Can I look too?" Castle asked her.

"Yeah, you like them too," Julia said. "Do you remember?"

"This one," Beckett said with a smile as she held up his copy of the album _Sgt. Pepper_. "How many times did we listen to this one?"

"How many times did we listen to them all," Darnley said with a laugh. "I wonder if it's because we hear our parents telling us stories doing that all the time and we never had an opportunity until you and I realized we liked the same music."

Beckett nodded and then said to Julia, "He's the one who got me interested in Paul's solo music."

"Really?" the little girl said, looking at the detective in awe.

"She knew only one song of his and that's because they play it on the radio," Darnley said.

" _Maybe I'm Amazed_?" Julia asked, aware of that fact since she had heard the song herself on the radio still. She smiled at her parents when Darnley nodded and then told him, "They had that song at their wedding."

"The song you danced to? You never told me it," Darnley told his friend.

"No," Beckett said with a smile. "It was Paul's version of _Always_."

"Oooh, nice," Darnley said, nodding his head a few times. "We didn't have a reception but we danced alone together the night we were married here in the family room so at least we could have that. And we danced to _Maybe I'm Amazed_." When the little girl didn't say anything he told her, "We teased each other about the lines referencing a girl but we knew what the song meant for us and we loved it."

"Which is why you have _McCartney_ still," Beckett said as she held up the album. She smiled when Darnley playfully grabbed it from her and told her husband and daughter, "He'd always tease me about treating these albums delicately. As if they were made of glass."

"You should," Julia said with a smile. "They're awesome; you don't want to break them."

"Hey you hip teens," a voice said. When the four looked up at her in surprise at her pseudo American accent Skye said, "Bethany asked me to come and nick you for dinner."

"Oh, fantastic," Darnley said. "Now you can see what she's making."

"Is it duck?" Castle asked, having joined the three in Darnley's office as he'd been driven crazy trying to figure out what the woman had been cooking but unable to see what it was.

"You'll see," Darnley replied.

"We are having a buffet," Joseph said with a smile at them. "And it is going to be a special dinner for everyone from out of town."

"That sounds like it's gonna be nice," Julia said, smiling back at him. She liked Nkosi's father as he'd told her and Eliza; plus Maddy though the baby had eventually left them to go to one of her fathers; stories about South Africa. "Can you tell us that story again later?" she asked him suddenly, the question nearly bursting out of her.

"Oh… you enjoyed that one?" Joseph said, knowing which she meant.

"It's an important story," Julia told him. She then became thoughtful and asked, "What if you wrote it down."

"I could," Joseph said, looking to her parents.

"Yeah we'd love to have a copy of that," Castle said since he'd loved the story about the man meeting Nelson Mandela when the president had been in the United States in the 90s. "You want to add your own point of view?" he asked Nkosi.

"If she wants me to," the man said with a smile, nodding to Julia.

"I do," the little girl said firmly. "Why did he want to meet you, say that again?"

Laughing since she'd been asking him Nkosi said, "I was the first South African to become an NTSB agent around the time of his visit, so he wanted to meet me. I took Mother and Father because they have always admired him."

"They will give you the story again later," Bethany said, going to where everyone was in the hall. "Come and see what we have made for you."

"Thanksgiving!" Eliza cried seeing part of the turkey that was left after carving.

"It does look exactly like that," Jim said with a smile for the woman.

"And it looks fantastic," Mary then added.

Smiling when everyone said something similar, Bethany urged them to go over and get their plates before they went to sit together around the table.

After Joseph gave a quick toast in Xhosa everyone began to eat and talk about their day to fill in Nkosi's parents on what they had done at the zoo. Towards the end of the meal; after they'd all complimented Bethany, Joseph and their son for their cooking; Julia brought up the idea of Skye singing again and she and her sister began to suggest titles of them before they were helping clear the table.

"Come on," Skye said with a laugh as the others urged her to take the three children to the family room. "I have an idea of what to sing already, let me get the guitar," she said. "Miss Julia? Can you keep an eye on these two?" she then asked her.

"Yep," Julia said seriously before she took her sister and Maddy to the family room. She was surprised; when Eliza tried to take the baby back to the kitchen play set; that Maddy instead held onto her hand tightly.

"Jo… Jo ba," Maddy told her.

"Do you know what that means?" Julia asked her sister, thinking because she was still little she might know.

"Maybe," Eliza replied. "She wants you to dance."

"I don't think so," Julia said when the baby had then grabbed onto her. She picked her up and then said, "I hope she doesn't want me to do this for a long time."

"You won't be," Skye said, coming into the room then. She smiled at Eliza trailing after her sister and watched them look at her then. "I brought these both because I realized I need Mary as back up; badly."

"We can listen in now," Beckett said, coming in and going straight to Julia to take the baby. She gently rocked her before Maddy could protest and then kissed her temple before handing her to her grandfather.

"Alright," Skye said once they were all sitting down and Mary was aware of what she wanted to play. "This is a song from a band. Not that band," she said quickly when she heard Julia gasp hopefully. "Sorry but you'll like this band too. You might know them already."

The little girl was confused but as soon as Skye played the first line she knew what the song was. "I love this one!" Julia told them a little loudly so they could hear her.

Skye smiled and nodded and then said hurriedly, "If you want to join in on back up we'd love you to do so."

"We'll try," Castle said, nodding to his wife.

Beckett looked at her husband but she couldn't really protest as she didn't have the chance, the song beginning as the two women started to sing. When she heard Julia's voice she looked at her, smiling at the look of enjoyment on the little girl's face as the McDouglases smiled at her.

 _Well it's all right, riding around on the breeze  
Well it's all right, if you the life you please  
Well it's all right, doing the best you can  
Well it's all right, as long as you lend a hand_

There Mary took over for her wife though Skye sang the second line of the verse as it was her back up. They smiled at each other since they had been practicing the song for a while; that time their first chance performing it for people other than their family.

 _You can sit around and wait for the phone to ring  
At the end of the line  
Waiting for someone to tell you everything  
At the end of the line  
Sit around and wonder what tomorrow will bring  
At the end of the line  
Maybe a diamond ring_

There Castle looked at his wife with wide eyes as she pulled their oldest to her and then they both began to sing the chorus together. He smiled as they leaned against each other and started to clap, not surprised when his mother joined in before Darnley and all the others did; reminding himself to ask his wife's friend why he looked nostalgic watching Beckett sing.

 _Well it's all right, even if they say you're wrong  
Well it's all right, sometimes you gotta be strong  
Well it's all right, as long as you got somewhere to lay  
Well it's all right, every day is Judgment Day_

At the verse Julia wasn't surprised when her mother stopped singing but she kept going just because she loved to get the chance to sing that song.

 _Maybe somewhere down the road aways  
At the end of the line  
You'll think of me and wonder where I am these days  
At the end of the line  
Maybe somewhere down the road when somebody plays  
At the end of the line  
Purple Haze_

Skye, singing, couldn't help smile as most everyone joined in again at the next version of the chorus looking at her wife before they turned their attention back to the guitars to keep with the chords.

 _Well it's all right, even if push comes to shove  
Well it's all right, if you got someone to love  
Well it's all right, everything will work out fine  
Well it's all right, we're going to the end of the line_

Watching the way Skye and Mary were both playing the strings of the guitar Eliza wished she could learn to play that already. But her grandfather hugged her before she shook herself of her thoughts and instead listened to the lyrics, knowing them well already from her sister and their parents.

 _Don't have to be ashamed of the car I drive  
At the end of the line  
I'm just glad to be here, happy to be alive  
At the end of the line  
It don't matter if you're by my side  
At the end of the line  
I'm satisfied_

Julia loved the way that the two women didn't look at each other at the third to last line and instead glanced at one another at the very last one. She looked at her mother, able to tell from the knowing smile on her face that she'd noticed the same thing as well and she looked back to them as Skye was quickly speaking.

"You two join us the last two times," the investigator said before she and Mary started to sing them together; Beckett and Julia singing as well though Castle slipped in too after the second line they all sang.

 _Well it's all right, even if you're old and gray  
Well it's all right, you still got something to say  
Well it's all right, remember to live and let live  
Well it's all right, the best you can do is forgive_

 _Well it's all right, riding around in the breeze  
Well it's all right, if you live the life you please  
Well it's all right, even if the sun don't shine  
Well it's all right, we're going to the end of the line_

Skye and Mary then began to play the closing chords together and everyone clapped as soon as the last one was echoing in the room before all three girls were asking them to play another one yet again. Sharing a look the two women then began to play another song, the room filling with singing from Julia and Eliza as it was a Beatles song they both knew very well while the others all watched them with a smile.

* * *

Holding onto the edge of the pool Julia looked over at her mother and smiled widely at her saying, "I'm still a little embarrassed I was singing so much."

"Me too," Beckett said.

"Why are you embarrassed?" Julia asked in surprise.

"Because I don't usually sing in front of people," Beckett said simply.

"But you sing so nice," Julia insisted before she let go of the edge to tread the water.

"I prefer to sing for you, your sister and daddy," Beckett said simply. She then said, "Want to go on one more race?"

"Yes please," Julia said before they went together over to the end of the pool. She and her mother had gone down to the pool after they'd left Darnley and the Nkosis, Maddy about to be taken up to her room to be put to bed. She had tried to tell her mother they didn't have to go alone but Castle and Eliza had settled down with Martha and Jim at the table to play cards so she and Beckett had gone. They had swum a little at first before they'd then raced but they hadn't really competed which she'd enjoyed since she was always going to lose as she was still small. So that race had them going to the opposite ladder together before they climbed out. "Are we going to the Jacuzzi?" she asked hopefully as her mother wrapped her towel around herself.

Smiling Beckett didn't answer and instead just took her daughter's hand to take her to the room where the hot tub was. Once they were sitting together in the hot water she watched the way Julia was running her arms back and forth and she said, "Have you enjoyed your trip?"

"We still have one more place to go Mommy. The trip isn't over yet," Julia protested, bringing her knees up so she could wrap her arms around them.

"I know," Beckett said. "Then let me ask that again. Have you been enjoying the trip so far?"

"Oh yes Mommy," Julia said with a wide smile. "We've gone to the best places and it's so neat to get to meet Patrick; to hear stories about when you were friends."

"I'm glad you want to know," Beckett said with a smile. "And you're just like your daddy because he's wanted to hear those stories for a long time."

"I'm not surprised," Julia said with a smile. She then giggled and told her mother, "But are you sad we're gonna be leaving tomorrow."

"No," Beckett said firmly as Julia then swam over to her where she wrapped her arms around her. She put her own around her daughter and told her, "Patrick and I were talking about that and we're going to talk via Skype whenever we can and if we're too busy then we'll e-mail."

"You should write letters," Julia told her.

Not surprised her daughter had suggested that Beckett told her, "We won't have time for that. But don't worry we don't want to lose touch again."

"Good, he's a really good friend for you," Julia said. "Like Skye."

Beckett kissed her daughter's temple and then said, "We better get out."

"We're going back up?" Julia asked.

"Not yet," Beckett said. She wasn't taken aback when Julia immediately asked her why but just told her that she would find out as they went back to the lounge chairs at the end of the swimming pool. Once they'd dried off they sat on one together until an employee walked inside to them. "I'm Kate," she called to him. She took one of the mugs of tea before giving it to Julia, taking the own second and giving the man a tip.

"I get to have tea?" the little girl asked with a broad smile.

"It's chamomile," Beckett said. "I thought it would be nice for us to have."

"You're right, it is," Julia said. "So did you see Williamsburg already?" she asked, feeling very grown up as she sipped the tea.

"Mmm-hmm," Beckett replied as she was drinking then herself. "Your grandparents took me there too; they wanted me to see the history of our country. Some of the history of the country."

Julia smiled and nodded saying, "I know there's a lot. Can you tell me what you saw or do I have to wait?"

"Now we want to surprise you," Beckett said. "Though you do know what it's supposed to be about now."

"Yeah… okay, I'll be surprised with Lizzy," Julia said. She giggled as her mother laughed and hugged her to her with one arm. She then said, "Oh Mommy, are you excited to go to that ball now you and Daddy are together again?"

Smiling at the question Beckett said, "Of course, it should be a great night." When Julia then started to ask what she and Castle would do when she and her sister were back in school she told her, "Probably focusing on writing before we're gone again to Japan." She wasn't surprised when the little girl started to talk excitedly about seeing everything with Mari and listened attentively though she'd heard it before. When Julia had stopped she got her ready to go since they'd finished up their tea and they headed together up to the suite the little girl shared with her grandparents and sisters.

"Your mom is going to be here soon," Castle said, watching Eliza. "And she is going to be mad."

"No," the toddler said, shaking her head firmly. "She loves me."

"Well of course she does," Martha said, coming into the room then after she had helped her son give the toddler a bath. "But you know how she feels about you bouncing on the bed."

Julia squeezed her mother's hand tightly and tried her best not to laugh as Eliza suddenly looked angry when she crossed her arms over her chest.

"She does know how I feel about that," Beckett said, looking at her youngest who looked shocked to see her there with Julia. "Sit down sweetie."

At first Eliza had been terrified that her mother was really mad but when she called her sweetie she felt a little better and quickly sat on the bed. "I wanted to bounce," she said softly as Beckett came over to her.

"She was only doing it for a while," Castle informed her.

"As long as you stopped when he told you to," Beckett said after kissing the top of Eliza's head.

"How was swimming?" the toddler asked after her father had nodded to her mother's question.

"Fun but we just swam, nothing special," Julia was quick to say.

"Come on," Beckett said to her then, taking her hand. "I'll help you get your shower ready."

When the two had disappeared into the bathroom Jim came inside and said, "Did I hear Katie?"

"She and Julia just came in," Castle told him. "She managed to get Eliza to sit down." He looked at his youngest and said, "Sorry but you shouldn't jump on the bed you and your gram are sharing."

Eliza sighed before she then brightened up and said, "Can you say about William?"

"Williamsburg," Martha corrected as Castle was getting the clothes for the toddler to wear the next day ready for her.

"And your parents want you and your sister to be surprised once we go tomorrow," Jim said as he sat on the end of the bed before Eliza leaned over on his back to his smile.

"Jules knows?" Eliza asked curiously.

"She doesn't," Castle said.

"Doesn't," the toddler pronounced slowly. She then smiled and said, "Why not?"

"You don't want to be surprised?" Jim asked.

"I… yes," Eliza said, starting to think about that before she agreed to it. "And then what?"

"We have to go," Martha said. She laughed with her son and Jim when the toddler looked a little startled and said, "Darling, it's Monday tomorrow you have school again on Tuesday."

"You know you have Spring Break coming up next," Beckett said as she and Julia left the bathroom at that moment.

"And weekends," Julia said, going to her grandfather. "But you have to stay in the city when we fly huh?"

"I have to go back to work myself," Jim said with a nod. "But I'll see you before Spring Break."

"When Grandpapa?" Eliza asked, moving around so she could sit on his lap.

"Hmm, how does the seventeenth of next month sound?" Jim said, pretending to think about it.

"But Mommy and Daddy-" Eliza began.

"He's going to San Diego remember," Beckett interrupted as she got Julia's last outfit ready for their last day out. "So your gram will stay with you."

"Speaking of that," Martha then said. "Who's staying with Brad and Lily's children?"

"They're going to be staying at Veronica's," Castle said. "They've done that once before remember and Jake and Eve are fine with it. They do like her."

"Mainly because it looks like Eve is going to be an artist of some kind," Beckett said, going over to sit with her dad. "So everyone's kids are going to have someone to watch them."

"I still think Mari could stay with us," Julia said.

"I know but her grandparents haven't seen her for a while," Beckett said as the little girl leaned against her.

"So you'll come for my birthday?" Julia asked her grandfather.

"I took the next day off so I could stay overnight," Jim said. "And spend more time with you."

"Good," Julia said. Looking at her mother she asked, "Do we need to go to bed?"

"It's not too late but we're getting up early again," Beckett replied. "It starts at nine and we want to get there as soon as we can."

"How are we going?" Jim asked.

"By car, Patrick is bringing one for us to take, one of you will have to go with Skye and Mary in the car they're using that's Joseph's," Beckett said. "And it takes about three hours to drive there so we were thinking of leaving at seven."

"Then we should all get to bed," Jim said.

"Go ahead and say goodnight," Beckett told the girls before they groaned.

"What time should we wake them up?" Martha asked, looking at her phone.

"Six thirty is fine, we're eating on the go," Castle replied.

"That's early," Julia told her sister seriously as she looked slightly confused.

"It is, is that okay with you two? It is still a vacation," Beckett said, looking at them.

"That's okay," Julia said, nodding at Eliza who still looked a little perplexed. "How long can we stay there before we have to go to the airport?"

"Until two," Castle said. When both girls then appeared surprised he said, "It's why we want to leave as soon we can. Our flight is at six."

"So we have to be there at five," Julia said.

"We do but you should know that Patrick and his family will join us at the airport to say goodbye," Castle said.

"Maddy too?" Eliza asked hopefully.

"Yes," Beckett said with a smile as the little girl then beamed at them. "So we'll see you tomorrow and we'll have fun driving down through Virginia."

"Oh we get to go to another state!" Julia nearly crowed. She then frowned and said, "What about my map? It's for the world and not here in the states."

"We'll see what we can do about that," Castle said with a quick nod. "Say goodnight to your grandpapa you two."

Taking both in his arms Jim said, "I love you Julia, Eliza sweet dreams tonight."

"Love you Grandpapa," Eliza said with a smile, kissing his cheek before they shared one.

"I love you too Grandpapa, I can't wait to go tomorrow," Julia told him.

"Me too," Jim replied. "To see what you two think." He shared a kiss with the little girl and then left telling them he was going to get ready for bed himself in the room he and Julia were sharing.

"I hope you two will fall asleep right away," Martha was then telling her granddaughters as she embraced them tightly to her. "And so you know I'll be getting into bed as soon as your parents go to their room. So goodnight Julia, Eliza and I love you both darlings."

"Love you Gram," the girls said at the same time. After they'd shared kisses with her they hugged each other and told one another goodnight.

"So you two don't love each other anymore?" Castle asked them teasingly as he sat down next to them. He smiled as they giggled and then shared quick I love yous before they threw themselves at him. He embraced them warmly and then said, "Everyone's saying get some sleep so I'll just say one thing to both of you, sweet dreams. Even that's not original though."

"What else can you say?" Julia pointed out.

"True," Castle said. "So I love you Julia," he said kissing her first. "And you too Eliza, I love you too," kissing his and Beckett's youngest next.

"Love you Daddy," Julia said, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I love you too Daddy," Eliza then said, patting his lips.

"Alright," Beckett said, smiling. "Let me say goodnight and get you two tucked in." She waited for Castle to give them a final kiss before he got up and she took his place, laughing softly when the two almost jumped on her. "I love you both too," she told them before she became serious. "And sweet dreams okay?"

"Yeah we will," Eliza said first. "Love you Mommy."

"Love you too Mommy," Julia then added. She kissed her mother's cheek before they shared kisses with her and then said, "Will you sleep okay too?"

"We'll be fine," Beckett said. "Here," she told Julia, helping her off the bed before she picked up Eliza to tuck her in. She and Castle kissed her on the forehead before they left, waving to Martha before going to the other room.

"You didn't take a shower Mommy," Julia commented when they got inside and heard the shower running.

"We have one in our room," Beckett reminded her with a smile. She hugged her to her side and then helped her onto the bed before letting Castle go over to her.

"We already said everything so… what do you want for breakfast?" he asked her.

"Daddy," Julia said, laughing softly as she saw her mother was rolling her eyes.

"We're getting something from room service," Beckett said. "Which we already ordered," she added. "So sweetie we'll see you in the morning. Help your grandparents if they need you to."

Nodding as she knew her mother was referring to the fact that they would have to finish packing as well before going; aware already that her father and grandparents had done that with hers and her sister's things while she and Beckett had been swimming; Julia said, "I will night."

"Night sweetie," Beckett said while Castle kissed the top of the little girl's head. She smiled and then went to her to tuck her in as soon as Julia was lying down. She kissed her and then waved to her father who stepped out from the bathroom then in his pajamas. When he smiled slightly and nodded to them she followed her husband out to the hall and down to their room.

"So," Castle began to say after he followed her into the bedroom once the door and do not disturb sign were set. "You're taking a shower."

"Like I told our daughter," Beckett said, smiling as she took off her watch and set it on her nightstand. Her phone joined it and she smiled at him before saying, "Want to join me?"

"Yes but… tired…" Castle said.

Unable to help smiling still at his attempt at a question Beckett told him, "I am too. So just a shower." She saw the slightly stricken look on his face and sighed saying, "How do we take a shower that's not sexual?"

"Touching is sexual," Castle pointed out. He couldn't help laughing when his wife dragged him by the arm into the bathroom and he quickly grabbed her to kiss her deeply. When they parted he told her, "Not much time for that today."

"Of course not," Beckett replied as she stepped back from him and started to unbutton her blouse. "When we get back home there'll be more time."

"I'm eager for that but I'll miss going around," Castle said, undressing himself.

Beckett didn't reply to that as she was aware her husband knew she felt the same about that. Once she was naked she went to the shower to turn on the water, unsurprised by the way her husband ran his hand over her spine. The water hot enough she then stepped under it, watching Castle following her. She went into his arms immediately, kissing him back as hard as she possibly could until they parted and he went to her neck, kissing at it hungrily. "Hmm, this'll be enough?" she asked.

Smiling as she liked to tease him with that Castle then said, "It is, we have a lot of time in the future."

"Hmm, good," Beckett replied, sighing again as he'd begun to gently suck at her racing pulse. When he stopped and pulled away she brought him with her under the water to get their hair wet and they began to clean each other off from head to toe eagerly.

A few kisses after the last of his wife's body was rinsed clean Castle sighed and said, "We have to get out." When her response to that was to turn off the water he got out first to grab her towel so he could help her dry off. He allowed her to do so with him but didn't let her get away from him once she was finished. "I wish I had the energy," he told her as he grunted when his arousal pressed in between them.

"I know I'm surprised you got as much blood there as you did," Beckett teased him.

"That was more you," Castle said with a slight smirk. "Since of course I can't really control that."

Beckett leaned up slightly before he bent his head enough so they could kiss. She forgot that she was naked, letting go of the towel she'd used to dry him off so she could hold onto him then. But when Castle abruptly pulled away from her, breathing harshly, she was concerned for an instant before she glanced down at his erection. "Do you-" she started to ask him.

"No, no," Castle replied. "Just let me… calm down okay?"

With a brief nod, as it wasn't the first time something similar to that had happened, Beckett went to get her pajamas on the counter before she dressed. She smiled as her husband; dressed himself; came to her and she said, "Remember us talking about energy?"

"I know, funny how that happens," Castle said. "But that went away really quickly."

Beckett laughed softly and then kissed him gently on the cheek before they brushed their teeth and hair, going out to the bed once they were done. "So your last three entries," she told him, taking the journal from the drawer in the nightstand.

"Nothing special in these," Castle said, watching as she lingered for a moment at the entry he'd written when he'd been intoxicated.

"You don't have to be drunk to write something romantic," Beckett replied absently. "Or sappy," she added, looking up at him and smiling.

Castle shook his head, though he was smiling and then watched her turn the page to what he'd written on the seventh. "This one-" he started to say.

"Shh," Beckett told him quickly. "No spoilers."

"Sorry," Castle said.

"Let me read," Beckett said then. " _I should start_ ," she began reading at the start of the entry after glancing at his writing her name as his intro into the writing. " _By saying sorry about last night. I read back over what I wrote but it's not an apology about what I said, instead that I wrote it while wasted. But I suppose I should be glad I was since it allowed me to tell you what I feel about you. I guess I poured out my heart and soul to you. Don't! Don't roll your eyes because I can just see you wanting to but it's how I feel about you_." She stopped there, since it was the end of his first paragraph, and said, "Rick, don't assume you know me that well."

"That was a just in case move," Castle replied, smiling widely at her. When she laughed and shook her head he waited for her to stop before brushing his lips against hers. He had only intended to kiss her once but couldn't stop himself from kissing her again a little deeper that time. Once they'd stopped he then told her, "Keep going, there's more."

"I can see that," Beckett said, using a mock annoyed tone though she couldn't really follow through with it fully. She then turned her attention to the rest of the entry and read out loud from the second paragraph.

 _Now that I've taken care of that I don't really have much to say today. Except I guess that it was boring here… I'm thinking already of DC and what we'll do there. I wish we could go for a little longer but we'll have the chance in the future of course. I told you already that I was able to have some time to relax today since my book signing was it and I'm finished now. So I took the chance to sleep and did so for a very long time and if you're thinking already that I dreamt about you then you're right._

 _These dreams were back and forth for a while, first they were very sexual and then very sedate; usually just us kissing each other. I had to lie for a while, counting as I looked up at the ceiling of the room I'm in now since I didn't want to start things before you called me. But those dreams… that first scene I should tell you about._

 _I was lying in a room, nothing really discernible about it though I was on a bed which was of course important. You walked up to me and I watched you circle me a few times before I was able to stop you with my hand. I pulled you onto me and we kissed, a deep kiss that reminded me that it was a dream when we parted and both of us were naked. We came together and it was… amazing…_

Beckett smiled as after that last word there was a stray mark and she cupped her husband's face for a moment before she then read the last sentence that she could easily tell he'd written in a hurry. " _I need to talk to you, badly, I have to go love_ ," she read. "Interesting."

"I know, I keep forgetting to tell you about my dreams," Castle said.

"Why don't we wait until we're home? That way we can recreate them then?" Beckett asked him with a smile.

"Are you sure? I had a lot of them," Castle said.

"And then we can recreate mine," Beckett said with a slight smirk as her reply to him.

Shuddering Castle then said, "Are you going to keep going?"

"There are only two entries left," Beckett said easily. She went to the entry on the eighth and read, " _In transit again and at this point I'm done. I give up Kate I shouldn't have gone on this tour and left you and the girls. I miss all of you but you especially, something's off with me and it's because you're not with me. I just want to have you close, not necessarily with me, but just close enough to know that it won't take us too long to be together_."

Castle reached for his wife at that since that was part of his first paragraph, holding her close to him as he recalled very easily what she was going to read next. "Remember you're the love of my life," he murmured against the side of her head quickly as she paused for breath.

"I know, you're mine too Rick," Beckett said. She turned her attention back to the page and then began reading again.

 _I think at this point there's no reason to deny to you that you own me Kate and I went into our wedding knowing fully that was going to happen. It wasn't just the fact that we were beginning a family together with Julia and Eliza but that I had needed you since that first day we met. I fell in love with you that night I met you Kate and I have loved you since then._

Beckett trailed off then and she looked at him before he looked away, clearing his throat. She knew he didn't want to talk about that just yet so she began again wondering what they'd say to each other after that entry.

 _I know you don't believe in love at first sight and neither do I but something happened when I first saw you. I'll never forget the feeling because I've never come across that before in my life with any woman. It was as if I'd taken a step away from myself but of course that's not possible, it's just what it felt like. I beg you, don't roll your eyes at this, but I swear it was my soul finding your own though I have my doubts you'll agree you felt the same way that night._

 _There has to be a brief, instantaneous moment when two people have that shock I'm convinced now. And that's when they know they've found their soul mate though of course, not right away. Thinking about it after I realized I wasn't with you just for inspiration or because I wanted to get you into bed with me- that one it became making love to you with the hopes we could be so much rougher than the gentler pace there is sometimes. I realized that I'd fallen in love with you. So… I'm going to be a little anxious at the thought of you reading this so you know but I have to tell you. It's why this distance is killing me; I need you close by my love to feel that satisfaction that comes from feeling our love and seeing you. I love you, deeply, desperately and endlessly._

"Endlessly?" Beckett asked since there the entry ended.

"That's what you have an issue with?" Castle asked in surprise. When she just smiled at him he cleared his throat before saying, "What… have you thought about this?"

"All the time," Beckett said. She closed the book for a moment and then said with a sigh, "I did fall in love with you then as well I just had to discover it." She began to speak but then hesitated, looking at her husband before he spoke instead.

"I know love," Castle said, rubbing her back gently. "You don't believe that soul thing I told you about but it was something."  
"I'll agree with that," Beckett said. "I would say," she then began with a smile. "That it was my wanting you in my bed but that would be an insult."

"How about if we say that that was part of it?" Castle suggested. He wasn't surprised when his wife laughed a little and then kissed her before he asked, "Want to keep going?"

"I'd love to," Beckett said, picking the journal back up before she opened it to the last entry; the day they'd known she was joining him in DC early. " _So the strife we've both been through_ ," she began to read at that point. " _Is over Kate, you're coming to meet me here in DC and I couldn't be happier_."

 _I'm so impatient for tomorrow that I find myself constantly looking at the time but luckily I'm schooling myself now not to do that too often. But I'm already imagining you in my arms again; just a hug not a cheesy metaphorical thing; and yes us intimate again though that's going to have to wait. I wish it hadn't been a murder that brought us back together but when hasn't it not been that? Oh wait, that one time you came to my loft, that was it._

 _I'm so eager you'd be saying it was the twelve year old in me but I'm going to disagree. It's the part of me that's desperately in love with you and needs you again. I just hope I can control myself once I see you again. But I still miss the girls, badly, I don't want you to think that I'm only focusing on you. I miss everyone, badly too, I love my family greatly._

 _So tomorrow when I see you at JFK I hope I convey how much I've wanted to see you, if I start weeping or kissing at your feet then I'm completely drunk again. But let me at least kiss you… wait, I'm talking to you in my head, sorry. I'm looking at the time and you'll be calling soon, we'll be talking. So now's the time to finish this up, it's kind of a sad journal but hopefully it reiterates what I've told you so many times; I adore you Kate Beckett._

At that point Beckett was startled to see two lines from a poem that he'd translated into Irish and she said, "Really?"

"It felt appropriate to end there," Castle said with a smile since they'd placed those two lines at the end of the last book of their wedding photos they'd made. Kissing her cheek he said, "What do you think?"

"It's sweet and I again wish I'd written one to you so you'd know I love you this much too, that I adore you," Beckett replied. She closed the book and after setting it down on the nightstand she turned to him, throwing her arms around his neck. As he grabbed her to pull her closer to him she kissed him as hard as she possibly could. Moaning deeply as that kiss seemed to mean more after reading everything he'd written to her, she got a sudden idea but turned her attention back to the kiss at that moment. Their tongues tangling they soon parted and once they had she kissed his cheek before jumping off the bed.

"Kate-" Castle started to say when she called back for him to wait. He sat there until he saw her returning with a pen in hand. Still confused he watched her get the journal again before furiously starting to write. He did as she asked and waited for her to finish, looking around the room awkwardly and impatiently as he could only imagine what she was writing.

Filling in a page with three paragraphs Beckett tossed aside the pen and handed the book to her husband. "Go ahead and read it's your turn," she told him when he looked at her questioningly.

" _I suppose_ ," Castle started to say as he began her first sentence. " _That writing this here with you next to me isn't the same as what you did with this journal but it'll have to do for the time being_."

 _Through our time apart, nine full days in all, I found myself missing you but it became a lot stronger than that. I've never used this word before but I began to yearn for you. You know what yearn means already right? I looked up the word when I realized how strong my missing you had become and have it memorized. It's to have a strong desire for somebody, especially when the desire involves sadness in some form. That explains what I was feeling perfectly so that little more than a week was the longest of my life._

 _But we're back together now and I am all the words that are synonyms with joyful. I don't have a thesaurus on me so of course can't look up those words but you know already how I feel. You mentioned a dream of yours so I'll tell you mine that I remember vividly out of all the ones I had. You came to me as we were alone at home; that was what they all had in common, you at home with me and us alone that was always the biggest thing I noticed. But I was in the kitchen, doing something at the sink that doesn't matter to me now. You grasped me, held me against you to show me how aroused you were for me, saying my name. You were groaning it as if I was something appetizing and you wanted to devour me. And I wanted that. I wanted you to eat me, possess me, take everything you desired from me because I knew already that you would worship me every last second we had together while you did that. And you did so in that dream. We moved somehow to our bed in the blink of an eye and we were making love before we slid into fucking each other. It became rough and hard and my body literally sang to you- if bodies could do that I'm sure it would have screamed your name too- the evidence of you all over me as you sucked, bit and kissed me. I woke up orgasming so fiercely that I would have passed out if I wasn't alone. That was what I felt I need you to know._

 _Why mention that now when we're about to sleep? Because. There's no other reason and I would laugh here if I didn't want to finish this for you. What we have I will always treasure and need. I need you Rick, unlike any other man I have ever known. I love you and desire you even now when I'm fatigued from our day with our girls. I'm watching you read this so look up at me now, close the book, give it to me and wait._

Castle did exactly as she'd instructed before she turned back to him once the journal was on the bed again. There wasn't much surprise to him when she climbed onto his lap and they were very quickly involved in a heavy, passionate kiss as they held onto each other tightly. He wasn't sure how long they were involved with one another like that, only that when they parted he was nearly breathless. "I love you Kate, I have to say it," he then told her as they pressed their foreheads against each other.

Smiling Beckett said, "I love you too Rick." She then leaned against him before saying, "I have more dreams I remember so I'll tell you about them too."

"Can I do that? What we did in that dream?" Castle asked her.

Beckett smiled again as she'd been expecting him to ask her that and she told him, "Yes, but when we're alone."

"Perfect, thank you," Castle told her seriously. He then kissed her again before they held onto one another as tightly as they could. He held her body close, caressing every part of it that he could until they were taking quick breaths. "Never again love," he said as they gently nuzzled their noses against each other.

"Hmm, not if we can help it," Beckett replied.

The two shared one more ardent kiss before they slowly pulled away from one another and got underneath the covers. It took them a little more time before they were falling asleep and they spent that moment talking to each other about anything and everything, kissing now and then because the journal reminded them that they could. They remained in each other's arms that night, looking forward to going home the next day since they would be doing so together.


	30. Take Off In The Blue

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: I was very happy to get the feedback I did for the last chapter so will get to my thank yous right away! TORONTOSUN (Great to see you liked how everyone was enjoying the zoo and with that I figured the kids would enjoy it just a little more than the adults so I'm not surprised you saw that. And it was great that you liked how the rest of Castle's journal affected Beckett at the end of the chapter), Guest (It was nice that you thought the last chapter was great again first thing in your review. And it's great you like seeing them having adventures with the family; I love writing those; as well as the one on one time that you mentioned. And I'm having Castle and Beckett waiting to see if Julia will come to them with anything in regards to the subject of the conversation, so they're letting her discover herself on her own time. But I'm not surprised you thought that might happen. And I'm so glad you like seeing Julia growing up so much, I love writing it myself too!) and vetgirlmx (I was happy to read that you loved the chapter from start to finish, definitely what I want my readers to think of course, lol. And I'm glad you like that Eliza and Maddy are getting to be friends and that you hope they continue to be. And I also can see them being friends for a long time and writing letters too. So great you mentioned Julia getting recognized and that you loved her reaction to that, lol, new thing for her especially since she's far from home. And I was pleased to see you enjoyed their last dinner in DC with them and that you think Nkosi's family is amazing also that that you enjoyed their story concerning Mandela 'cause yeah that would be huge. Great to see you enjoyed the chapter and that you can't wait to see the last day of their trip and now you don't need to anymore!). Thanks so much for the reviews, loved reading them as always and I appreciate the time taken to send them out to me after writing them!

A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _Come Fly with Me_ written by Sammy Cahn, the version I've taken from is sung by Frank Sinatra from his album of the same name.

Take Off In The Blue

"This is it?" Julia asked, looking up at her mother who she was walking with.

"It is," Beckett said. "Less than you expected?"

"No but… are they wearing costumes?" Julia then said in surprise when she saw some people walking, one of them a man with a tricorn hat on and a wig.

"This is why we didn't tell you two about what it's like here," Castle said as he was walking next to them with Eliza. "They re-enact what this town looked like in the late seventeen hundreds just before the Revolutionary War."

"Ooh… why?" Eliza asked.

"So we don't forget our history," Darnley said, pushing the stroller behind them, walking with his husband and in laws.

"I wish Skye and Mary would have come to see this," Julia commented to her mother then as they passed some colonial style homes.

"Well Mary was feeling a little tired so we should just let them rest," Beckett said, glad her daughter hadn't heard the conversation she'd had with the investigator. She could tell that idea of resting had been an excuse but hadn't cared since she couldn't blame the women for wanting the time alone before they made their way back across the country starting that evening.

"Flying back takes a while?" Julia asked.

"It does," Castle said then. "Look here's the first place we're taking you."

"It's a palace!" Eliza cried out when she saw the building.

"It's the Governor's Palace," Jim told his granddaughters. "From before the war when the colonies were still part of England."

"Can we go inside?" Julia asked hopefully.

"We're going right now for a tour," Castle said.

"Do you want to hear about it?" Beckett asked, directing that to Eliza. When the toddler nodded she smiled and then went to the door of the palace after they'd taken enough pictures of the outside. "I hope she'll be okay," she said to Darnley as they entered it.

"Me too," he replied with a nod before they went to see where they needed to join their tour.

While walking through the house Eliza was with her grandmother and she looked around eagerly at the different colored walls. When they came to one room where there were swords all over the walls she frowned and looked at Martha.

"I know kiddo," Castle's mother said in agreement. "I'm not a fan of the décor either but there was always a military presence in these places."

"It is interesting," Darnley told her having heard them. Since they hadn't brought Maddy's stroller with them inside he said as the baby in his arms was looking around the room, "I think she's interested."

"What do you think?" Julia asked Joseph, standing with the man near a door where there were pistols above.

"I would remove the weapons," Nkosi's father said.

"I would too," Nkosi himself said before they were starting to walk again.

When they'd come to the Card Room Beckett glanced over at the Nkosis since there was a figurine of an African American lighting the candles in the chandelier.

"It's alright," Nkosi said first. "We don't condone you for the institution since we know you didn't support it of course."

"What are you-" Julia started to ask before she cut herself off. "Oh…"

"It's alright," Bethany said quickly. "As he said you didn't have slaves and you don't support the idea so that's all we can ask."

Eliza looked at Maddy, having heard of the concept of slavery from her sister while she'd been learning about the Civil War, and she reached up to her saying, "I won't ever have a slave. And you're my best friend."

"Eee!" the baby cried out, smiling down at her as they held hands.

"She appreciates that," Nkosi said, squeezing his husband's arm to assure them the statement wasn't offensive.

By then they were leaving the room and walked to another that was painted a bright blue and had two large paintings at the end of it. Castle and Beckett watched Eliza as the tour guide mentioned that the two were the king and queen of England when the Revolutionary War had occurred. They smiled at her surprise before she then smiled and they shared a glance, wondering what she was thinking exactly before they moved on.

When they were back where they started with the tour Castle and Beckett led them to the garden in the back and the maze that was there.

"Are we going through?" Jim asked.

"Who wants to go?" Beckett asked, looking at the girls. She wasn't surprised when they raised their hands and she looked at her father and her mother in law.

"I'll stay," Martha said since Joseph and Bethany had gone back to a bench to sit.

"I'll stay out here, I see some nice shots," Jim said.

"We'll be back," Castle called to them then. "At least I hope so!"

The girls giggling before Maddy joined them the group went into the beginning of the maze and they let the three start to try and navigate it.

Walking up ahead of the three men to walk with the kids Beckett said, "Eliza?"

"Yes Mommy?" the toddler asked, looking back at her.

"Why were you smiling in the room where the painting of the king and queen were?" Beckett asked her as she'd suddenly been reminded of it watching her youngest smile.

"I like that name," Eliza said.

"Charlotte?" Darnley asked as he, Nkosi and Castle could hear them. When the toddler nodded he said, "Are you thinking of how we told you your mom and I would think of names for kids?"

Beckett couldn't help laugh slightly at the nod Eliza gave them and said, "I'm not surprised."

"Say the story Mommy!" Eliza cried out then. "We want to hear."

"You do?" Castle asked in surprise since he thought there wasn't much to say considering Beckett and Darnley hadn't mentioned it much.

"Yeah a story for the maze," Julia said, smiling back at her mother then.

"I'll start," Darnley said with a smile. "The first time we did that we were listening to…"

" _Rubber Soul_ ," Beckett reminded him.

"Yeah that," Darnley replied. "And something made me think of the idea of kids and then it went to names for some reason so we started to talk about it."

When Julia and Eliza clamored for him to continue; since he'd stopped there; Beckett laughed and then helped her friend with the story as she recalled it vividly at the same time.

* * *

 _"What're you thinking?" Beckett asked, watching her friend as he was looking up at the ceiling lying on his bed. She was sitting on the edge next to him, wondering at the expression that had suddenly come across his face as they were listening to the song In My Life._

 _"About possible futures again," Darnley said, sitting up then. "Want something to drink?"_

 _"Sure but what were you thinking about with your future this time?" Beckett said as she watched him walk over to the fridge in the kitchen._

 _"Names," Darnley said._

 _"Our husbands?" Beckett asked._

 _"Not this time," Darnley said with a smile as he put a kettle on the stove. Seeing his friend's surprised look he told her quickly, "I didn't want liquor yet today."_

 _Beckett nodded and then moved to sit back against the headboard so she could watch him, smiling as she then said, "So you're looking that far ahead?"_

 _"Oh so you guessed," Darnley replied with a smile._

 _"You're always the one that brings up kids," Beckett said. "It would sound like you are right now."_

 _"Not really," Darnley assured her. "We have to become partners first remember?"_

 _"I remember," Beckett said with a smile. "So you want to think of baby names?"_

 _"More in the context that we would pick the names we liked the most," Darnley replied to that. When he glanced at her he saw that she was nodding so he then said to her, "You first."_

 _"Oh no, you're so eager to talk about it," Beckett retorted._

 _"Fine," Darnley replied before he had to take off the kettle when it started to whistle. He set the tea to brew before walking back with it and returning to the kitchen for two mugs and some honey. Sitting where she'd been while he had been lying down he said, "I have always loved the name Paul for a boy. No, not because of McCartney, I just like the name."_

 _"I knew someone in high school," Beckett began, smiling at her friend. "That was named John Paul for the two, that was when I started listening to them. I had wondered what it was about this band that made a mother and father name their son for two of its members. And I remember my parents listening to them too."_

 _"Good, now you know," Darnley said. "But I wouldn't do that."_

 _"You wouldn't use any names in your family?" Beckett asked then._

 _Looking to her at that Darnley wasn't surprised when she looked slightly startled at what she'd asked and he said, "No, my family hasn't inspired that need in me."_

 _"Then no other boys names?" Beckett asked him, relieved he hadn't asked her._

 _"Well… I like the name Edward-" Darnley started to say before his friend made a sudden sound._

 _When he looked at her Beckett said with a smile, "I was thinking of that name myself."_

 _"Not surprising," Darnley said with a nod. "I think that's about all I can think of at this moment."_

 _"My turn now?" Beckett watched, taking the mug of coffee that he'd poured out for her then. When he just glanced at her she smiled before saying, "Alright, besides Edward I would use the name James; just because I do like the name. And that would be a middle name."_

 _Darnley paused for a moment and then said, "Paul?"_

 _"No," Beckett said, shaking her head. She made her friend wait for her to continue as she took a sip of tea before she then told him, "Paul George."_

 _"Oh, I like that one," Darnley said. "You always hear John Paul or Paul John."_

 _"And I do like George," Beckett added with a smile for him. "Girls?"_

 _"No thanks," Darnley said. When she pushed at him he laughed before he then said, "I like the name Emma, always have."_

 _"So…" Beckett said slowly when he stopped there. "If you have kids…"_

 _"I've thought of that myself and it would likely be adoption," Darnley said. "I'm not so sure about a surrogate."_

 _"It needs to be seen still?" Beckett asked him. When he nodded she smiled slightly and then told him, "Well in case you can name your child I think they're nice names. But just Emma?"_

 _"I like Linda," Darnley said, smiling when she laughed softly in reaction to that. "And Maria. Now your turn."_

 _Not surprised when he'd said that slowly Beckett said immediately, "Elizabeth. My mom loved that name and I love the name and I think it's a strong name."_

 _"Regal," Darnley added, not surprised when she nodded in agreement to him._

 _"Other names… I like Emma too and Jane but I also enjoy Charlotte and Josephine," Beckett said._

 _"Nice," Darnley said, nodding his head. They were both quiet as they were drinking their tea before he then said, "What about your mom's name?"_

 _"I don't know," Beckett said. "It wasn't until we started talking about the idea of having kids that I thought seriously about having a daughter and… I might give my daughter; if I have one; my mother's name."_

 _"It's a nice name," Darnley said._

 _"But it depends on two things," Beckett said, smiling at him. "One if I have children and two if my husband would really want to do that."_

 _"I don't think you'd be marrying him if he didn't want to consider using your mother's name," Darnley pointed out._

 _Beckett thought about that for a moment and then gave him a brief smile before nodding. But that smile fell off her face soon after and when her friend asked her what was wrong she said softly, "I wish she could be here for that. My possibly getting married… grandchildren."_

 _Reaching out to her Darnley squeezed her hand as tightly as he could before he told her earnestly, "She is here Kate. Think about it, your children are descended from you, you from your mother. They're part of her as much as they're a part of you."_

 _Smiling and managing to get her tears under control Beckett murmured a thanks to him before she reached for him, hugging him. Calming down then they parted and she started to ask him about their weapons training before they spoke about everything else but her mother to her relief._

* * *

" _It was a risk_ ," Castle was saying to Beckett. " _But she doesn't seem to care her name wasn't with the others that you had_ ," he told her.

" _I know_ ," Beckett said, watching their oldest with Maddy and Eliza in front of the coffeehouse they were about to go into. " _I just… wanted to tell her the story_."

"She likes hearing about you with your best friend back then," Castle said. "So do I."

Beckett smiled and said, "That doesn't shock me. But remember what I've told you, there's nothing outrageous or salacious."

"That's fine, I'm happy to hear anything about you," Castle told her.

Glancing at him since he was so serious Beckett bit at her lower lip before he was taking her hand pulling her closer. "You really mean that," she told him.

"I would imagine because you're my wife I'd like to know you," Castle said, glancing around them at their friends and family. Luckily they were alone and he turned to look at her full on before telling her, " _Everything_ ," nearly breathing it out.

Though she knew they probably shouldn't Beckett couldn't help lean into him before they kissed. They lingered for just enough time before they parted slowly and she murmured to him, "I feel the same about you."

"I thought you did," Castle replied, smiling. "Luckily Brad's told you a lot for me."

Beckett laughed and shook her head before they saw that Nkosi's parents were walking back up to them. "So you two are ready to go," she said when the girls ran up to them.

"Yeah, we want chocolate," Eliza said eagerly.

"Patrick!" Beckett said.

"They were going to find out anyway," Darnley said defensively before he laughed with her.

The group went inside the building and listened to an explanation of how coffee and tea were brewed before samples of those and chocolate were passed around.

"Careful Eliza," Castle told the toddler. "This is still very hot."

"It smells like chocolate," Eliza said, smelling what was in her cup.

"That's because it is," Julia said. "But I want to try it out too," she said, smiling at her sister.

"I wonder if we shouldn't have dressed up," Darnley said slowly as he was standing next to Beckett.

Rolling her eyes she told her friend, "You would have been dressing up on your own."

"You wouldn't dress up as that one Halloween?" Darnley asked.

"A _Dancing With the Stars_ costume is enough," Beckett said.

"Yeah I was lucky I could get her to dress up in anything at all over the years," Castle said.

"How did you," Darnley said.

"Rick, Patrick, I'm right in between you and I'm not afraid to throw out the rest of my coffee," Beckett told the two though she was joking.

"Oh… I know that tone," Darnley said. "I know it well still."

"Me too, we'll stop love," Castle said quickly, he and her friend looking at each other with mock concerned expressions on their faces. He looked to the girls then, seeing they were sipping their chocolate slowly and shared a look with Beckett before they continued with their coffees.

"Do you like them?" Beckett said to Julia and Eliza.

"Yeah I finished Mommy," the toddler told her mother, showing her her cup.

"I see," Beckett replied. When she saw her youngest was looking at her still she couldn't help laugh softly and said, "Sorry sweetie they're just samples."

"We'll have lunch soon," Castle said then. "Come on let's see what we can discover next."

"I wonder," Martha was saying to Beckett as they left walking with Julia. "What are we going to be seeing?"

"Look!" Julia suddenly said before her mother could speak.

Looking down the street, Beckett saw that there were two girls with hoops rolling them down the street by using sticks. "They used to play with those back then," she said.

"Hi," Julia said then to one of the girls.

"Would you like to play?" the taller of the two asked.

"Yes please," Eliza answered first.

Waiting for the girls to hurry over to a building near the coffeehouse Julia said to her parents, "I think they're getting more, will you play too?"

"If they have enough for us," Castle said, not surprised when his wife looked to him.

"Play with us Mommy," Eliza said, coming over to her then and taking her hand.

"If they have enough for us," Beckett replied, echoing her husband as she then looked to him.

"Would you like to play as well?" the other girl said when they had come back to them with more hoops and sticks.

"Sure," Castle told them. He took one and after Beckett had another he said, "How hard is it to roll these?"

"Not very," the taller girl said. She and the other then began to teach the girls and also Castle and Beckett at the same time before they practiced rolling the hoops down the street.

"Calm down Maddy," Nkosi said, standing with his husband and their daughter who was gasping and cooing. "You're a little too small to play with these yet."

"She can try to hold the stick," Eliza said, stopping in front of them.

"Better you don't," Darnley said with a smile. "She'll try and chew on it."

"Oh," Eliza said, realizing that he was right.

"Would you like to race them now?" the shorter girl was asking Julia.

"You think we could?" the little girl asked though she was interested.

"It would be between you," the taller girl replied.

"Good luck," the shorter girl told them.

When Eliza had made her way back to them Castle helped her stand in front of the square that they were in front of. One of the girls called out for them to go and they began to race, running over the snow and rolling the hoops together. Eliza was the first to lose control of it and she cheered on her sister as she waited to watch them.

"Wait, it slipped on the…" Castle began to say when his hoop fell to the ground then. He laughed when Eliza ran over to him and threw her arms around him before they watched Julia's hoop falling.

"You won Mommy," Julia said with a smile as her mother then lost control of her hoop. She ran up to her and threw her arms around her as tightly as she could, laughing heavily.

"I was just lucky," Beckett told her with a smile as she hugged her back. She heard running and said to her husband who was doing so to her and Julia, "You're going to slip."

Watching as the four then hugged Darnley said, "She's happy."

"Very," Jim replied, smiling as his daughter and son in law helped their daughters get the hoops to take back to the two girls. He then turned to the man and asked, "You were concerned?"

"I was," Darnley said, nodding his head once. "Hey, nice race," he said as the family was rejoining them.

"Pretty good our first time out," Castle said in response. "So, blacksmith?"

"Yes," Beckett said, knowing he'd been wanting to go to that for some time. They walked together towards the white building where a demonstration was just beginning. While the men there were showing how a sword was made from the metal she noticed the enthralled look on her husband's face, rolling her eyes slightly before she noticed that Darnley was doing the same. She made her way over to Nkosi carefully and murmured to him, "You're not interested in this either?" she murmured.

"Well, I know weapons had to be forged but… no," the man replied as they were making their way to the back of the room. When they stepped outside he said, "Patrick loves this sort of thing."

"Listen," Beckett said as she heard the sound of the metal being formed on the forge still. "Would you promise me something?"

"Of course," Nkosi said.

"You've been doing so already but promise me you'll take care of Patrick," Beckett said. "He's happy, happier than he was when we were in New York."

"He was happy with you," Nkosi protested. "He has told me so much about you and when he does the smile on his face makes me want to thank you."

Beckett was slightly startled when the man took her hands but she allowed it as his tone was so earnest. Squeezing his hands before he let her go she said, "You've done that already."

"He means so much to me," Nkosi replied, glancing at the blacksmith. "I was alone for a very long time after my ex boyfriend left me because he realized he actually wanted to be with women. I doubted myself but Patrick…" He shook his head and said, "Never mind."

"I don't mind you telling me," Beckett replied. "But I would guess he made you think of the future again."

Nkosi looked startled at that before an expression of realization spread across his face and he smiled at her saying, "Rick did that for you."

Seeing their families coming out then Beckett smiled and then nodded once before they went over to them. She picked up Eliza and carried her to where they would be eating lunch.

"What is it?" the toddler asked her mother.

"It's called the _King's Arms Tavern_ ," Beckett read the sign for her before kissing her temple gently. "You should like it here."

"Do we eat old food?" Eliza asked as they were going up the steps.

"Old fashioned," Jim told her since he was behind his daughter.

"That means they used to eat like this a long time ago," Julia told her sister before they were seated. Since there were so many of them they were seated at a long table and she made sure her father sat to her left while Maddy was at her right. She smiled at her grandfather who was directly across from her and she listened to the adults talking about what to get. After she and her sister had told their parents their decision she then turned her attention with Eliza to the baby in between them.

" _I wonder_ ," Castle murmured to his wife as Darnley's parents were talking to theirs and Darnley himself was talking to his husband and the girls. " _If they're going to have a hard time saying goodbye to her_."

" _She might_ ," Beckett replied, looking over at Eliza who was talking seriously to Maddy while holding the stuffed panda that the baby's fathers had brought for her. " _But we'll have to hope that they'll be alright and know we'll see each other again_."

" _What about you_?" Castle then said. When his wife looked at him in confusion he then explained, " _Leaving_?"

" _He's my friend_ ," Beckett said, inclining her head slightly. " _But you are my husband_."

" _I'm glad you know_ ," Castle said with a slight smile before he saw that their food was being brought out to them.

After they had begun to eat Beckett asked her friend and his husband about their plans for the future but wasn't surprised when they mainly talked about their hopes to finish adopting the baby they had long since thought of as their son. "You'll call us when you have him right?" she asked the two.

"Of course," Darnley said. "Either call you or e-mail you."

"You can text her too," Nkosi told his husband.

"I will," Darnley said with a smile.

"Are you eager for your grandson?" Martha asked Bethany who she was sitting next to.

"Oh yes, we want Maddy to have a brother," the woman replied.

"And our son and Patrick have wanted another child for some time now," Joseph said as he smiled. "So we are just as ready as they are."

"Mommy?" Julia then said softly. When Beckett turned to her she asked, a little louder, "What can we do next?"

"I'm afraid we'll need to go," Beckett replied. She was surprised when the two girls didn't protest and then turned to her husband with a slightly questioning look on her face.

"Are you two ready to go home?" Castle asked.

"No," Eliza said immediately.

"But we know we have to," Julia said. She then looked at her sister and said, "I kinda miss home too."

"Yeah and Macca and Rita," Eliza added.

"Your dogs?" Darnley asked with a smile. When they all nodded he then said, "You were heavy on the Beatles names."

"Rita's short for _senorita_ too," Julia told him.

"She's an Ibizan Hound," Beckett explained.

"And Macca?" Darnley said.

"An Irish Wolfhound," Castle answered before his wife could say anything.

"The more I hear about your life up there, the more I want to go," Darnley said to Beckett with a smile.

"We'll have you up at some point," Beckett said. "But if that doesn't work out before this summer…"

"We'll try," Darnley replied.

"I would like to see Ireland and what you two might do for renewing your vows," Nkosi said.

"To get ideas?" Darnley asked him.

"Of course," Nkosi replied, squeezing his hand.

Once they'd finished their meal the group left the restaurant to go to a place called _Dubois Grocer_ where Darnley and Nkosi bought everyone slices of ginger cake. Walking back to their cars together Beckett called Skye and Mary, learning that the two were just leaving their late lunch they'd had.

"They're going to meet us there," Beckett told them all as they were in the parking lot. "So we'll follow you?"

"I'll drive your car, which is going to be the van this time," Darnley explained. "Since they're going to head home."

"We have to say goodbye now?" Eliza asked sadly.

"We do but we will see you again," Nkosi said as the toddler had been speaking to Maddy who yawned.

"Will she forget me?" Eliza asked the adults softly.

"She won't, we'll make sure she won't," Darnley assured her. "Honey," he then told the baby. "You need to say goodbye to Julia and Eliza."

After Maddy was down on the ground she went to Eliza first and said, "Bye Eee."

"She can say that?" Castle asked in slight surprise as they hadn't heard the baby saying that before.

"She can, we never really said goodbye to you before," Darnley said in response.

Hugging the baby as she put her arms around her Eliza said, "Bye Maddy. I will see you but I won't forget you any!"

"Eee!" Maddy replied, jumping up and down.

Laughing Julia recovered quickly when the baby grabbed onto her and she picked her up, hugging her. "Bye Maddy, like Lizzy said we won't forget you. You were fun to play with."

"Yeah, I thought you were too," Eliza said quickly.

"Bye Jee," Maddy said, patting her cheek gently.

"Let me have her Julia," Jim then said to his granddaughter. He took the baby and said, "It was great to see you Maddy and we'll see you hopefully soon."

"He's right we will," Martha said as the baby turned to her. She took her and hugged her tightly before handing her to Castle.

"I was really glad to see you," he was telling the baby seriously. "Because I knew you were going to be very good friends with my girls." He laughed slightly when she then patted his lips and said, "We'll see you."

"Take care of your dads for us," Beckett told Maddy once she had her in her arms. "And we'll make sure you'll see Julia and Eliza again."

After the girls had hugged Nkosi's parents and then Nkosi himself they stepped back and watched their grandparents do the same before Castle and Beckett were saying goodbye to them.

"Take care of Patrick," Beckett murmured to Nkosi.

"I told Rick to take care of you," the man said back to her.

Laughing Beckett then said, "I'm not surprised but take care of yourself and Keo and Maddy too."

"We will," Nkosi said. "Safe flight."

With that Darnley said goodbye to his family before getting into the van with the others. "Hopefully we'll have a nice, simple send off," he said to Beckett who was in the passenger seat next to him.

"We'll see," she replied simply, checking behind her to make sure that the girls were alright before looking forward at the road ahead of them.

* * *

Making sure the last suitcase was on the scale Castle listened to the woman behind the desk telling them what gate their flight was. He turned around and saw his wife with Darnley and the girls, saying to his father in law and mother, "We better go, who knows how long the line for security will be."

"Aren't you going to see Skye and Mary?" Martha asked.

"We have to get to them too," Castle replied.

"That's it?" Beckett asked when the three came up to them.

"That's it, we're set," Castle said, smiling at her slightly.

"I'll walk over to the line with you," Darnley told them. He went with Beckett while the rest of her family was ahead of them and when they were at the entrance to the security line he started to say goodbye to Jim and Martha. Turning his attention to the girls he laughed when they threw themselves at him. "So I guess you'll miss me too," he told them.

"Yeah, you're Mommy's friend," Eliza said firmly.

"Yeah she's right, you really helped our mommy before," Julia then said.

"I'm glad you guys are helping her too," Darnley replied. He hugged them and then said, "Keep doing that and I'll be really happy. And I was glad to see you both too."

"Thanks," Eliza said, beaming at him.

After letting go of the two Darnley shook Castle's hand warmly and told him seriously, "I'm trusting you to take care of her."

"I've been doing that," Castle told him reassuringly. "And I intend to keep on doing so."

"Thank you," Darnley told him.

"And I have to say the same to you," Castle then said. "Because you were with her at… not the best time, you kept her sane."

Darnley shared a look with Beckett and said, "Sorry about talking about you now."

"It's alright I had expected this," she told him with a slight smile.

"And I had to help her," Darnley said with a shrug, turning back to Castle. "She did the same for me."

"Do you want us to wait for you?" Castle then asked his wife.

"Go ahead, I'll meet you at our gate," Beckett said, smiling at their daughters. Once they were in line she turned to her friend and hugged him as tightly as she could saying, "You have my card?"

"I have it," Darnley assured her. "And you have mine. Text me when you can back in NYC."

"I will," Beckett replied. When they pulled away she laughed and reached up, thumbing a tear off his cheek. "Why are we crying?" she asked then.

"I don't know," Darnley replied, laughing himself as she brushed away a tear that had fallen down her cheek. "But I think I'm recalling when we said goodbye last time."

"So am I," Beckett agreed. She hugged him again and then said, "This time though I'm not letting you just go."

"Though it's the opposite this time," Darnley said. "Have a safe flight Kate."

"Thank you, we'll talk," Beckett replied before they hugged one last time. She squeezed his hand tightly before they let go and she got into line. She glanced back at him before going up to the metal detectors and gave him a final wave there.

"There she is," Castle said as the girls were holding his hands. "Are you ready?" he asked his wife when she was close enough.  
"Yeah are we all going?" Beckett said, looking at her father and Martha.

"We're staying," Castle's mother said. "Remember we did say goodbye to them yesterday."

"Alright we won't take that long," Castle told the two. "We'll be right back as soon as we can; before they call for us to board."

With that Castle and Beckett took their daughters after the employee who was waiting for them, being led outside to a hangar where Skye's plane was.

"Hey there," Skye said, seeing the family first. "You made it in time I see."

"We see," Mary said, walking around the plane to them.

"Sorry love, thought you were still inside," Skye said, smiling at her. "How're Darnley and the Nkosis?"

"Great, too bad you didn't come too," Julia said to her.

"We're sorry, we needed a little rest," Mary said, going over to them. She hugged the girls and said, "It was great to get to see you, next time we do we'll have Marie and Kath with us."

"Good, I wanna see them," Eliza said.

"Me too," Julia said. They then turned to Skye and embraced her together before she said, "Thanks for taking Mommy and Daddy places."

"Not a problem," Skye said slightly laughingly. "We'll see you next month on our way to Japan."

"We can't wait," Julia said, her sister nodding in agreement with her.

Hugging Mary first and then Skye, Castle told the two, "We'll get in touch eventually."

"Hopefully before the flight," Mary said laughingly.

"Probably," Castle said with a nod. "See you then."

At that moment Beckett was embracing Mary and then said, "Watch out for her."

"Did Patrick or Trevor tell you that?" Mary inquired.

"Did they tell that to you?" Beckett then said as they let each other go. When the woman nodded she then said, "It figures." She went over to Skye who asked her to follow her to the plane and said as she was looking inside the cabin at something, " _Your wife has a limp_ ," in Russian.

Pausing then Skye looked at her before she said, "Piss off."

Laughing with her friend, as the woman had jokingly said it to her before, Beckett then asked, "Any reason why?"

Glancing through the windshield at her wife and Beckett's family, Skye then said, "We've been apart for two weeks."

"Oh, that makes sense," Beckett said then as she nodded. "So you're set?"

Knowing that she was referring to her plane Skye said, "We are." She then climbed down and said, "I should let you guys go."

Looking at her watch Beckett then asked, "What time do you leave?"

"In about forty minutes," Skye replied. She then hugged Beckett tightly saying, "It was a nice visit."

"It was," Beckett said with a smile. "I'm glad you were here to join us."

"It wasn't a problem," Skye said with a slight nod. "And I noticed Rick and Patrick became fairly close; because of you though."

"I figured, though they did become _pretty_ friendly you're right," Beckett answered. They walked around the plane and went to their families. "Safe flight," she told the two women.

"Safe flight," Skye and Mary said at the same time.

Calling goodbye to them Castle and Beckett led their daughters after the employee back to the gate. Greeting their parents they then went to the windows in front of them where they spent the rest of their time waiting for their plane to board watching the runway in front of them.

"You know," Castle said while they were getting in their first class seats once they were on the plane. "Are you sure you don't want to stay in the city."

"Have you been talking to the girls?" Beckett said with a smile at him.

"No this was all me," Castle assured her, looking at the girls who were glancing around the aisle seats at each other. "See? They don't even know."

"Do you want me to drive?" Beckett asked him, unaware their parents were watching them. "I could."

"No, no," Castle said quickly when she sounded concerned. "I'm just kidding I'll be fine. Sorry."

Beckett leaned over to him then and kissed him gently before she turned to sit and she saw that Eliza; who she would be sitting with; was watching her. "Did you hear that sweetie?" she asked.

"I did too Mommy," Julia called from the row behind where she was sitting with Castle.

"Nice job Rick," Beckett then told him teasingly.

"We don't want to stay," Eliza said. "We wanna go home all the way."

"She's right, we do miss it a lot," Julia said.

"I do too," Beckett replied. The flight attendants then began the safety demonstration and she paid attention before turning her attention to Eliza. As they backed up she leaned over and murmured that she loved her before sitting back and holding her hand for the take off.

* * *

Watching his granddaughter yawn Jim said, "You had a good nap."

"I know," Eliza sighed before she hugged him tightly again. "I'll miss you Grandpapa."

"I will try to come before your sister's birthday," Jim told her seriously.

"Yep, I hope you do," Eliza said with a smile.

"See you then honey," Jim said before sharing a kiss with her. "I love you Eliza."

"Love you too Grandpapa, lots and lots," the toddler said, smiling at him widely.

Waiting for her sister to be set down Julia then hugged their grandfather as tightly as she could before telling him, "I hope you can come out to the house too."

"Like I said I will try," Jim told her before he kissed her forehead. He embraced her once and then said, "I love you Julia."

"Love you Grandpapa, it was great you came with us," Julia told him seriously before she shared a kiss with him.

"Be safe getting home," Jim told his son in law as he shook his hand next.

"We will be I'm sure Kate will text you once we're there," Castle said with a nod to her.

"Bye Dad," Beckett told him, hugging him next. "He's right; I was going to text you and Martha."

"She'll appreciate that too," Jim said with a smile since they'd already dropped off Castle's mother since the loft was first on the way to the Hamptons. He waved to his family as they got into their car he and Castle's mother had used to drive their granddaughters to the city four days before. When they were out of sight he then turned to enter his apartment building, unable to help feeling a little lonely as he went to the elevators but reminding himself he'd see his family soon.

"So now we're going home?" Julia asked.

"We are," Castle said. "Your grandpapa is home, your gram is set too and we just need to get ourselves home now."

"Good," Eliza said firmly.

"Try and stay awake you two," Beckett said, reaching back with her husband's tablet. "I put on _Lilo and Stitch_ so it'll last you until we're home." When the girls were watching the movie she looked at her husband with a smile, squeezing his arm before settling back into the passenger seat.


	31. Take Off In The Blue (Part 2)

An hour and a half later they reached the Hamptons and Castle pulled up to a restaurant that he'd ordered their dinner from, picking it up inside as the others waited in the car. Heading for home right away he asked his wife, "Do we have enough for tomorrow morning?"

"Milk and oats for the oatmeal," Beckett answered. "And we have oranges too."

"Then we'll be set," Castle said.

"When are you gonna go to the market?" Julia asked interestedly.

Smiling; since both girls enjoyed going to the market with them; Beckett said, "I'm afraid we might have to do that after lunch with your sister."

"We should go before," Castle said.

"That's true," Beckett replied. "We've been eating out for a long time."

"Me even more," Castle pointed out to them.

"That's okay, next time though can I go too?" Julia asked.

"We'll try," Beckett promised her. They had reached the house then and she watched as Castle then pressed the button on the remote for it they had in the car. Once they were in the garage they got their daughters and luggage out before she was calling Rebecca.

"Are they coming over?" Eliza asked hopefully.

"Right now but it's going to be quick," Beckett answered. "David's taking over Dani's bath and she wants to be back for that."

Ushering the girls inside Castle looked around unable to help feeling genuinely happy to be back home. He sighed and said, "I love you guys."

"Us or the house?" Beckett asked him in amusement.

"Oh…" Castle said pretending to think about that. "No, I'm kidding," he said when the girls were looking at him in slight annoyance. "I love you guys like I said." Before anyone could respond to that there was a knock at the door and he smiled as the girls cried out before they went to the door to the backyard.

"Hey," Rebecca said, hugging Beckett as soon as she could. "Here are your dogs, excited since they knew they were coming back."

Squealing as Rita knocked her down licking at her face Eliza wrapped her arms around him tightly saying, "I missed you lots and lots Rita."

"I missed you too Macca," Julia was saying to the Wolfhound as it nuzzled her hands and spun around back and forth.

"I hate to just leave but-" Rebecca then said.

"We have time to catch up-" Beckett started to say before she paused as the girls cried out in surprise. She turned around and smiled seeing her husband was trying to handle both dogs trying to jump on him. "We have a lot of time; your daughter's having her bath."

"Tell Mari I said hi!" Julia told the woman.

"I will," Rebecca replied with a nod. "Welcome home," she told them before saying goodbye and leaving as they said the same to her.

"Macca," Beckett then said with a laugh as the dog was jumping on her then. "And Rita, I'm happy to be back too." When she'd managed to calm them down she scratched at their heads before telling the three watching her, "We need to eat dinner and unpack."

"And then play?" Eliza asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid not," Castle said. He smiled at Beckett when the two complained and said, "Come on, we need to get back to normal life."

With a sigh Julia took her sister's hand and they walked to the kitchen ahead of their parents to wash up and get the plates.

"Not tonight," Beckett told the girls as they started to walk to the table. She smiled at their surprise and said, "In the family room."

"Oh good!" Julia said eagerly.

"Yay, can we watch something?" Eliza asked.

"Some cartoons," Castle replied.

"Wait!" Julia gasped quickly. "We have that competition recorded don't we?"

"The Equestrian Finals?" Beckett asked. "Do you mind?" she asked Castle and Eliza.

"I wanna see the horsies," the toddler replied quickly.

"I'm fine with that," Castle said before he and Beckett took the food into the family room.

While her husband was serving the food Beckett turned on the competition, not surprised when she and Castle had to urge their daughters to eat. "I think," she said to her husband. "We had a great trip."

"We did," Castle said. "And I did as soon as you came and then them."

Smiling as she'd heard that Julia said, "At least we're gonna stay together when we go to Japan."

"That's a great thing," Castle said, pointing his fork at her.

"Rick, don't point with that," Beckett said with a smile as she pushed his arm down.

"Mommy look, it's like Alex," Eliza said, getting their attention.

Looking at the screen Beckett saw it was an Andalusian similar to her horse and she looked at her husband. "It's been a while," she told him, her voice soft.

"I know," Castle said, smiling at her widely. He took her hand and told her, "Tomorrow?"

"If we can," Beckett said, squeezing his hand back before they looked at their daughters. She was surprised to see that they were watching the TV still but didn't mind and watched the competition herself.

When they had finished their meal Castle and Beckett let their daughters watch some of a movie that was already on TV. While they were cleaning up she got a text message, reading it and seeing it was from Skye.

"They got to Cleveland?" Castle asked her as he knew already who it was.

"Yep, they're heading to bed right now," Beckett said, unable to help smiling.

"What is it?" Castle asked her seeing her smile.

"No, it's just she told me the reason they were together," Beckett replied. "They were apart for a while."

"But they, oh," Castle said, realizing then. "I don't blame them for taking the chance; no case to separate them and time for it."

" _Do you want_ -" Beckett started to say.

" _Not tonight, I'm feeling tired_ ," Castle said. " _It was a lot of traveling_." He then made a face and said, " _Does that mean_ -"

" _If you're not able to tomorrow_ ," Beckett began. " _Or the next day then ask me that again. And so you know I'm tired too._ " She wasn't surprised when her husband grabbed her and pulled her him before she laughed softly. "Let me dry my hands off," she told him, grabbing the dish towel. Once she was finished she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply on the lips. Parting she whispered, " _I could use a bath tonight though_."

" _Me too_ ," Castle told her seriously. They kissed again, gentler and quicker that time, before they were parting and then leaving the kitchen to head back to their daughters who were still watching the movie in the family room.

Seeing the two were still involved in what was on the screen Beckett allowed her husband to go over to turn off the TV. "Sorry you two," she told them when the girls groaned in disappointment. "We got home late remember?"

"It's still vacation!" Eliza said though her sister was helping her get up.

"And you still have school tomorrow," Castle said, picking her up. He tossed her up in the air slightly before he followed Beckett and Julia over to the stairs while the dogs followed him. "Bath? Baths?" he asked his wife when they were upstairs.

"You're giving her a bath," Beckett said. "I'll go with her."

"Okay, let's go sweetheart," Castle said though he was carrying Eliza.

"Do I have to go to bed right away?" Julia was asking Beckett after they'd gone into her room.

"I don't think so," Beckett replied, checking the time on her watch. "But you won't be able to stay up as late as we usually let you."

Julia nodded before she went into her bathroom and she got ready for the shower while her mother waited on her bed. "Mommy?" she called through the slightly closed door.

"Yes sweetie?" Beckett said, looking up from her phone thinking that she needed her help.

"You don't have to wait for me," Julia said softly.

Smiling at her tone Beckett said, "I don't mind and your daddy and sister can have some time alone too."

"But I'll be in the shower," Julia protested.

"Which you're not going to be doing if you keep talking to me," Beckett told her gently. She smiled when the sound of the water started after that and she looked at her phone, seeing that she'd gotten another text from Darnley. She smiled as she read the message and then texted back, _Sorry I was eating dinner and getting everything ready with the girls but we're back home completely now_.

Julia, taking a very quick shower as she knew she didn't need to wash her hair, got ready once she was out as fast as she could. Stepping outside she saw her mother was just putting her phone away and she asked with a smile, "Did you text with Daddy?"

"No," Beckett said. "With Patrick while I unpacked. Did you brush your teeth?"

"Yep," Julia said, knowing her mother was teasing her as she'd had the door open when she'd done that. She waited for her mother to get up before taking her hand and together they went to Eliza's room where Castle was brushing her little sister's hair. "Sorry," she said, looking up at her mother.

"It's okay," Beckett said. "You do know how to brush your hair."

"She's ready," Castle said, finishing and handing the brush to his wife. "I'll say goodnight to her now."

"I thought you were," Beckett replied with a smile before she went to the bathroom to put away the brush.

"Let me say goodnight to her first Daddy," Julia said then, having been hugging Rita as she knew the dog would stay with her sister.

"Go ahead," Castle replied, watching Eliza climb down from the bed as she used the edge of the bed frame to help her.

"Night Jules," the toddler told Julia as they hugged. "Love you."

"I love you too Lizzy, I'll see you in the morning," Julia said. She then laughed as her sister made a face, knowing she was thinking about the fact that they had school the next day, and she told her, "At least we have recess and can see our friends again."

"Yeah," Eliza said thoughtfully. She then looked at their parents and said, "Can Maddy come to my school here?"

"I'm afraid not sweetie," Beckett said. "Patrick and Trevor's home is in DC so she and her brother will be going to school there."

Frowning Eliza looked annoyed before she thought of something and said, "Can I have a little sister?"

Freezing Castle somehow managed to look to his wife after he'd recovered before he said, "We don't know yet sweetheart. But it's getting late so you need to get to bed."

Eliza went into his arms then so he could place her on the bed and before he could say goodnight to her she went to Rita who'd jumped on the end of the bed. "Night Rita," she told the dog seriously as she hugged it around the neck. "Okay Daddy," she said as she went back to where she'd lay down. She embraced him and said, "I love you."

"I love you too Eliza," Castle told her. He pulled away from their hug to look at her and said, "Sweet dreams."

"You too," Eliza said, nodding her head firmly. She shared a kiss with her father and then said to her mother who moved to sit next to her in his place, "I love you too Mommy and I hope you sleep now Daddy's home."

"I think I'll be able to," Beckett said, pretending to think about that for a moment. "And I love you Eliza, happy to be home?" She wasn't surprised when the toddler nodded firmly and she then pulled her into her arms where they embraced tightly before she was pulling away. "Me too," she then told her.

Waiting for the two to share a kiss Castle then said, "I think we're all happy to be home."

"He's right," Beckett said, smiling as she stood up then to tuck Eliza in. She brushed her lips over her forehead before she felt her husband next to her and watched him run his hand over their youngest's hair. Taking his hand since she could see then that the day was catching up to their youngest, she made him walk with her to the doorway where Julia and Macca had gone to wait.

"So it was a lot today," Castle commented since the toddler had been asleep while they'd looked back to her.

"It was but I'm not tired yet," Julia said quickly as they went into her room.

"To make sure," Beckett said once they were in it. "You have everything ready."

"Yeah, my homework is in my backpack and that's downstairs," Julia said with a nod. "Oh, I have to take a book tomorrow to read for the week."

"Did you pick one out yet?" Castle asked, since she had to read the book for homework and not for class so she could choose it though she needed to show it to her teacher to get it approved.

Going to her bookcase Julia looked over it and then said, "This one."

"Another _Dear Canada_ one?" Beckett asked, seeing it was a book that took place during WWII.

"Yep this one I didn't read yet," Julia said. "But it's gonna be sad."

"I know," Beckett said since it was the diary of a Japanese-Canadian girl sent to an internment camp. "Are you sure you want to read it?" She wasn't surprised when the little girl nodded firmly so she took the book to look at it herself.

"How long is it?" Castle asked, watching her.

"A hundred and eighty pages," Beckett replied. "So we'll have four days to read it."

Knowing that her mother wanted her to figure that out Julia closed her eyes to try to be able to do the division in her head. It took her a moment but she then guessed, "Forty five?"

"Good job," Beckett said with a nod.

"That's a lot of pages," Julia pointed out to her mother, wondering if she'd still want to read.

"I know we'll need to take turns if we have to," Beckett said. She let her daughter take the book to set it down on her desk and then followed her over to the bed. "Tomorrow you can go over to Mari's if you want after your class," she said.

Thinking that over for a moment Julia said, "I think I wanna come back home," looking then at her father.

"I don't blame you," Beckett said, turning her attention to her husband as well. "It's been a while since we were together here."

"During the day," Castle said. He smiled when his wife rolled her eyes and then said, "You're right though, I haven't been around while you do your homework for a while."

"Can Mari come over the next day?" Julia then asked.

"You mean Wednesday?" Beckett said as a reply. When her daughter nodded she smiled and said, "Of course, are you going to give her the things you got then?"

"Yeah I don't want to take them to school," Julia said. She smiled and then said, "That was so much fun."

"I think we all agree," Castle said. "That it was. I just wish we'd had more time to take you girls around."

"We'll go back won't we?" Julia asked. "Patrick is there, and Maddy and Trevor."

"You make a good point," Castle said though he was looking to his wife to let her answer that.

"If he asks us down then we might try to work out a visit," Beckett answered.

"That's good, 'cause Lizzy really liked playing with Maddy," Julia said.

Castle's gaze was still on his wife then as he saw she was slightly tensing up but Julia began to speak again before she relaxed.

"It's funny… but maybe because Dani's still little?" Julia asked.

"She's a year old now," Beckett reminded her. "And Maddy is just a little bit older than her. I think your sister just wants to have a friend like you do next door."

"And like you had Kate," Castle pointed out.

"That I do now," Beckett corrected him before he smiled and nodded his head to her.

"Did you really do all that stuff with him?" Julia suddenly said. She wasn't surprised when her parents looked at her and she explained, "Did you know each other a long time?"

"Almost two years," Beckett said. "He left on the first of September in 2001; I'll always remember that because I was just barely a police officer when the eleventh happened."

"I'm sorry Mommy," Julia said.

"It's okay," Beckett said, not surprised to hear her daughter's tone of voice. She gently hugged her before saying, "I think it's time to get you in bed."

Julia was going to protest but she saw what time it was and she moved onto the bed a little more. She hugged Macca tightly around the neck as he was on the end of the bed in his place. "I missed you Macca," she told him. She giggled softly when he licked at her cheek before she let him go to lie back down. She went over to where her father was sitting on the edge and then hugged him tightly before saying, "I love you Daddy, welcome home."

"Thank you sweetheart," Castle said before they shared a kiss. "I love you too, sweet dreams okay?"

Nodding Julia waited for her mother to sit next to her before she wrapped her arms tightly around her. "I love you Mommy," she told her seriously.

"I love you Julia," Beckett told her. She squeezed her a little tighter before letting her go and moving to share a kiss with her. "See you tomorrow sweetie," she said before standing and then tucking her in.

Watching as her parents left Julia turned onto her side once the lights were turned off and listened to them talking as they walked down the hall. She smiled at how right it felt to hear them though she couldn't make out exactly what they were saying, very happy that they were all home. With that thought she closed her eyes to fall asleep, feeling safe knowing that Castle was finally with them after so long out on his book tour.

* * *

Her eyes closed Beckett couldn't help the smile on her face as she soon felt her husband's hand running up and down her arm. They had just stepped into the bath he'd drawn for them and she felt herself relax as the warmth of the water helped her feel that. She opened her eyes then and looked over at the window to their right, seeing the snowflakes falling outside. "Oh was there supposed to be snow here?" she asked her husband knowing he was likely looking at it as well.

"Let me check," Castle replied, drying off his hands quickly and reaching for his phone. He went to the weather app he had before he held it in front of her so she could see. "Looks like snow for a few days," he told her.

"So looks like we can't really ride," Beckett mused. "What about Friday?"

"Will that be enough time for them to get the trails cleared?" Castle pointed out, not surprised she'd asked since he knew how much she wanted to ride.

Making an annoyed sound in the back of her throat Beckett finally said, "Alright, we'll try next week. It's been too long though since you were with me."

"I know," Castle said, setting down his phone. When he had turned back to her he ran his lips up the left side of her neck gently and murmured, "I was jealous."

"Jealous," Beckett said in amusement.

"Yes, of Alex and Julius, who got to spend that time with you," Castle said, sliding his lips down to her shoulder to kiss at it.

Beckett smiled but didn't respond to it as she was allowing herself to enjoy the feel of his lips. After a while she then reached up to cup the back of his head saying, "Now we can spend time together after we drop them off," she told him.

"You don't want to get back to the book?" Castle asked, slightly surprised.

"Not right away," Beckett explained. "Better if we get ourselves back to normal for that."

"So Wednesday," Castle stated instead of answering.

"That would be nice," Beckett said. She then turned and once Castle was holding her as she sat on his lap she leaned over to kiss him gently on the lips. "So tomorrow we can do whatever we want."

"Until we have to get Eliza," Castle stated.

"That's plenty of time," Beckett replied firmly.

Shuddering slightly Castle leaned over and kissed her, that time holding onto her lips with his own for a bit longer. Sitting against the back of the tub he watched her follow him before he started to stroke her back. "Tell me something," he suddenly said.

"Like what?" Beckett asked with a smile as that question didn't surprise her in the slightest.

"Something you remember from your time with Patrick," Castle said, knowing she was aware of what he was going to ask already.

Thinking for a moment Beckett said, "We did go to a fancier dinner once together."

"On your own?" Castle asked, slightly surprised.

"Yes but it wasn't a date," Beckett told him. "It was a dinner between two friends."

"So you remember the dinner?" Castle asked when she didn't say anything else. He was surprised when she moved away from him and he looked at her with wide eyes before she pulled on his hand to help him get up on his knees as she was. He held her as she wrapped her arms around him and they kissed passionately, delving into multiple kisses until they had to breathe for much longer than a few seconds. "I'm… what are we doing?" he asked as he watched her stroke at his chest, his voice shaking slightly.

Smiling Beckett then said softly, "Turn around." She wasn't surprised when he looked at her questioningly and told him, "I'll tell you the story."

"Okay," Castle said. "You know," he told her as he turned around to face away from her. "I can do the same for you."

"Later," Beckett said. "And to answer your question I'm going to tell you about when we went back to his place."

"Okay," Castle said.

Beckett leaned over before she began to massage his back and said, "We went there for coffee as he was really good at making Irish coffee."

"Hmm, should I be jealous now?" Castle asked, looking back over his shoulder at her.

"No," Beckett said, playfully pinching his back though she didn't do that too hard. "We sat on the couch and talked, that time around about our husbands."

"Ooh, you had time turners awesome," Castle said. He laughed when his wife pushed his shoulder and then said, "Go ahead I do want to know."

"He started first," Beckett said, rubbing out a knot that was in the middle of his back. "He usually did but this time around I really wanted him to stop." She smiled briefly to herself before she continued, recalling it vividly as she had been doing with all her memories of her friend.

* * *

 _"Come on Kate," Darnley said as he sat down next to her on the couch with his coffee in hand. "What's the harm in talking about it?"_

 _"I told you," Beckett protested. "How do you know we're going to end up with someone we talk about now?"_

 _"We don't but just saying it is fun," Darnley said._

 _Sighing Beckett said, "If you're so eager to talk about it then you start."_

 _"Well I told you before I tend to go for black men," Darnley began._

 _"I knew that already," Beckett said with a smile. "I see the way your attention goes to them."_

 _"I'm not looking at them for that long am I?" Darnley asked worriedly._

 _"No don't worry," Beckett said, shaking her head. "If I'm with you and it becomes a problem I'll definitely warn you."_

 _"Great," Darnley replied. "But of course more important than looks is personality and there Kate you can tell me what you'd like."_

 _"So what would you like?" Beckett asked to keep him from getting her to say anything yet._

 _"Smart and one that loves kids; would want to have kids," Darnley said. "And also love animals because that's always a good sign they're not going to be a dick."_

 _"That would indicate it," Beckett said, unable to help laughing. "But you're right that's a nice thing to have in a man."_

 _"Oh one last thing," Darnley said. "That they'll want to be romantically involved with me."_

 _"And have sex?" Beckett asked, teasing him._

 _"That would be really nice," Darnley replied. "So."_

 _With a slightly frustrated sigh Beckett said, "I think basically what you want too; except for the sex with men part."_

 _"How about a lover that knows what to do with you?" Darnley said. When Beckett looked at him at that he said, "Offensive?"_

 _Unable to help smiling at his concern Beckett said, "No, it doesn't make any sense. You meant one that would take the time to understand how to pleasure me."_

 _"Yep," Darnley replied. "I think we should say better than I could pleasure a woman as I'd be… clueless."_

 _"Have you ever seen a woman's body?" Beckett then asked._

 _"Outside of art?" Darnley responded with a question. When she nodded he smiled and said, "I have, porn."_

 _"I was going to say," Beckett laughed._

 _"Have you ever seen a gay man's body?" Darnley then pretended to ask her seriously. He smiled when she laughed and pushed him away from her and then said, "I think I know something else you can add to your list." He wasn't surprised when she looked at him questioningly and he told her, "A man that can make you smile, and laugh."_

 _Biting her lower lip Beckett said softly, "That would be nice." She then thought of something and said, "Maybe a straight version of your personality."_

 _"Not fully, 'cause we've talked about this and we're like brother and sister," Darnley said quickly._

 _"Then similar to yours," Beckett said. "I don't know, I don't think I have time now to date."_

 _"So you're taking a break?" Darnley inquired._

 _"I think I should," Beckett said._

 _"Good," Darnley said in response to that. When his friend looked at him he said, "It hurts to see you push yourself Kate." When she let out a sigh he told her, "Don't start, you know what I mean."_

 _"Alright," Beckett said simply, taking a sip of coffee. She then thought of something and said, "What about you?"_

 _"What about me? And concerning what?" Darnley asked her in slight confusion._

 _Beckett smiled at how perplexed he looked and she said, "If you ever want to go to a gay club I'll join you."_

 _"Oh, I don't think that would be the best idea," Darnley said._

 _"I'd ruin your chances?" Beckett asked, not surprised he thought that._

 _"No, I just don't think you'd be comfortable there," Darnley said honestly._

 _Beckett hid her smile by drinking her coffee again before she told her friend, "Because men wouldn't be coming after me? I'd welcome that for a night."_

 _"How'd I do with that?" Darnley asked._

 _"Pretty nicely," Beckett said with a smile. "Thank you. But the offer still stands."_

 _"I'll consider it," Darnley said, nodding his head. "So how about some cards?"_

 _"I'd love to," Beckett replied, standing up with him to go over to the kitchen table he had to sit down and start playing to round out their night._

* * *

"What did he do?" Castle asked when his wife had finished talking. "Tell me and not briefly."

Beckett laughed softly but before she could start talking her husband was turning her around. "It was while we were leaving the restaurant," she told him, recalling it in detail herself to make sure she could tell him everything that had happened while he proceeded to massage her back.

* * *

 _"Great dinner," Darnley said as he and Beckett stood up from their table. "I'm glad you brought me here."_

 _"I had to show you one of the best," Beckett replied. She pulled on her shawl she'd worn and then reached out to loop her arm through his, leaning slightly against him. "How is it in DC?"_

 _"Fun," Darnley said slightly absently._

 _"I saw," Beckett told him quickly. "Keep walking."_

 _"Right, well the best thing about it there is that it's very multicultural too," Darnley said while they tried to walk a little more rapidly. "So you'll get a great variety."_

 _"Hey," a man said suddenly stepping in front of them and making them stop._

 _"Excuse us," Darnley said a little angrily. "My girlfriend-"_

 _The man cut him off with a laugh and said, "She's not your girlfriend." He turned his attention to Beckett and said, "You shouldn't be all alone with a qu-"_

 _"I'd rather be with him than you," she said, cutting him off. "Much better company."_

 _"Back off," Darnley said, walking away from his friend to push the man away as he'd stepped closer to her._

 _Beckett was able to see the man beginning to draw back his hand into a fist before Darnley could and she shoved him with both hands hard enough to knock him off balance before her friend placed his foot on the man's chest while he was still on the ground._

 _"She said no so she's going where she wants," Darnley said to the man._

 _"With him," Beckett added._

 _"I'd stay down, we're both training to become cops so we're well versed in self defense," Darnley said then. "I'd give up if I were you." He stepped away from the man and when he didn't move walked with Beckett away from him to the street so they call a cab and head to his apartment._

 _"Thanks," Beckett murmured to him._

 _"Not a problem, couldn't let him think he had much of a chance," Darnley said, smiling as Beckett hugged him briefly before they climbed into the cab that had pulled up to them._

* * *

"I'm glad he did that too," Castle said. "Also that he mentioned the two of you knowing self defense."

"He knew I was going to need to prove myself," Beckett said. "As a woman of course."

Castle nodded and then said, "Do we have to get out?"

"I think we should. We'll need sleep too," Beckett said. As she waited for him to stand up she said, "We need to put the book away."

"That's right," Castle said, since they'd only unpacked the girls' suitcase. He helped her dry off before he did the same to himself and then followed her to the bedroom so they could dress. He finished before her so he was quickly grabbing their _Kama Sutra_ and setting it in its usual spot. "Okay so that's taken care of," he told his wife as he went to where she was in the bathroom to finish up.

"Great," Beckett said. "When we come back with Eliza we need to do laundry; badly."

"Sure," Castle said with a quick nod. He then proceeded to brush his teeth, watching his wife as he did so before he asked her, "Why-"

"You're foaming Rick," Beckett said, having been waiting for him to try and talk. She tossed him his towel with a laugh before she leaned against the counter next to him to wait for him to finish. "Why what?" she asked when she knew he could speak.

"Why don't we have some tea?" Castle asked.

"Sure," Beckett said. "Am I going with you?" She wasn't surprised when he shook his head no and she followed him to the bedroom. Before he could head over to the door she grabbed his hand and then pulled him up to her. "I want to Rick," she murmured before they kissed one another deeply.

Holding her close against him Castle couldn't help himself and started to stroke her hair with one hand while the other was slipping underneath her pajama shirt. He ran his fingertips over her skin, loving the way she trembled in front of him, and then pulled away from her with a smile saying, "You're amazing Kate."

"Thank you but we should go and get our tea," she said with a smile to grab her robe for some warmth. After her husband had his on Beckett reached out to him and they went hand in hand downstairs. In the kitchen she sat at the island while Castle was getting the tea prepared and she smiled as he walked up to her while waiting for the kettle to boil. "You know I feel the same about you," she told him with a wide smile as she wrapped her arms around him. Since she'd turned the chair to the side he'd come to stand right up against her and she clasped her hands on his neck.

"We're going to our room aren't we?" Castle asked.

Smiling as she knew he meant the next day Beckett pressed her lips to his very gently and said, "I'm eager for it, what about you?" When he crushed his lips to hers she nearly melted into him; curious as to how she didn't end up collapsing into him off the chair; before she was hurrying to respond to him. Stroking the back of his head and neck while they were busily dueling with their tongues she felt his hands under her shirt again, running all over her bare back. Sighing when they'd parted she said, "If we did that for hours I think I would still enjoy myself."

"Me too," Castle said. "You have the most…"

Beckett looked at him questioningly when he trailed off and didn't respond, appearing to be thinking of how he wanted to end that. "You can't think of a word."

"Delicious," Castle said, nipping at her lower lip. He didn't let her respond to that, kissing her again until the kettle was beginning to whistle and he had to rush to it before the girls could wake up.

Beckett could feel her cheeks flushed with what her husband had told her but she knew he had been serious. Studying him she licked her lower lip before he was turning to her with a cup of tea. As soon as he had his mug ready they left together to go back up to their room.

"Do you want the fire?" Castle asked as he stood next to the bed while he held her mug for her as she got under the covers.

"I don't want to stay up that much longer," Beckett said. She smiled at her husband when he gave her her mug and took a sip before he got under the covers next to her. "Are you going to be able to get back into the book? We didn't write much once you left," she told him once he was settled and drinking his tea.

"That's true," Castle replied. "We only wrote twice didn't we?"

"We got Moor and Green back together," Beckett said to remind them both so they could start thinking about it again.

"Yes and that was the end of the chapter," Castle said. He and his wife thought about that then and after a while his attention went to her when she pressed against his side before leaning against him. Wrapping his arm around her he turned his head, kissing the top of hers gently. "I'm wondering if we might have them go into the orangery."

"You want the reveal there?" Beckett said.

"Maybe," Castle mused. He took another drink before he then said, "What if we had Moor and Green talking in there and the killer starts shooting at them with the pistol?"

"Interesting but you just want to go straight into that?" Beckett asked.

"No, no," Castle began. "I think we should have them say the suspect we said would be the McGuffin and then they get shot at by their actual killer."

"Alright we'll need to get that conversation set," Beckett said. When he didn't say anything else she then said, "What if we have them run through part of the house?"

"Instead of how we'd run through the woods?" Castle said to clarify. When she nodded he thought about that for a moment and nodded saying, "I think that could work, we'd just have to see how far we go with it."

"I figured," Beckett said with a smile. She then finished off her tea and said, "I think we should get some sleep."

Drinking off the last of his tea Castle turned to his nightstand to set aside the mug before he laid down first while Beckett watched him. As soon as she was in his arm he pulled the covers over them with the other hand and then said, "Night Kate, love you."

"Hmm, love you too Rick," Beckett said before they shared a kiss. She wasn't surprised when they both lingered in that before finally parting and lying down fully.

Holding her tightly Castle ran his hand up and down her arm, the rhythm of that making him fatigued much quicker than he'd expected. He was soon asleep deeply, not realizing that his wife wasn't as he nodded off.

After a while Beckett glanced at her husband and she smiled as she saw that he was asleep. She carefully pulled away from him, having to move slowly to make sure she didn't wake him up but she was finally off the bed and once she had her robe back on she went out to the hall.

Going first to Eliza's room she leaned against the doorway, waving to Rita who raised her head to look at her. When Beckett was sure her youngest was fast asleep and okay she went to Julia's room and waved to Macca as he was quick to raise his head. She went inside that time to fix the little girl's sheets that had come off her a bit. She then left quickly, heading back to her own bed and the warmth of her husband next to her.

Thinking of that as she stood next to the bed to remove her robe Beckett looked down at Castle still fast asleep and smiled to herself. She slipped underneath the covers and was about to lie on her side when he was suddenly grabbing her, pulling her against him. She was startled, thinking that he was awake, but his mumbled words before he murmured her name made her aware he was dreaming and about her.

Beckett smiled again and she then settled against Castle's side, closing her eyes so she could indulge in her body's need for sleep while she let the familiar sensation of contentment his hold provided wash over her. As she began to nod off she couldn't help remember what had been going through her mind checking on her family. With them all back together there the beach house was home once more and with that thought she smiled briefly before cuddling closer to her husband as she joined him in sleep and dreaming of him as she knew he was still doing of her.


	32. Morning Brings A New Day

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: Really great to see the feedback I was able to get for the last chapter so I'm going straight to my thank yous! TORONTOSUN (Great that you think everyone looks great in costume, I've seen pictures of it there and the workers definitely do. And I'm so, so glad you like seeing Beckett as a mother in my story, we saw so little of it on the show that I had to put her more as a mother in my series. So I was very pleased to see you thought it fits her very well!) and vetgirlmx (Glad you thought it was a very good chapter first off! Also great that you could tell they had fun the last of the time they were spending in DC and of course with their friends. And I was glad that you could tell that it was a difficult goodbye for Beckett and Darnley though they'll stay in touch. And I wanted to have them remembering their previous goodbye though as you said they'll stay in contact and have their friendship back. I've had that weariness after trips myself, lol, so I was very pleased that I could convey that them returning home. And I didn't want to have Darnley assume that Beckett would be fine at a gay club, more concerned that she would enjoy it as well before he just took her there. And you never know, she could have in the end, just forgotten about it as it was a while before since they'd been around each other. So glad you can't wait to see what they do next and now you don't need to wait for that anymore!). Thanks so much for the reviews, I loved reading them as always and appreciate the time taken to write them out and send them to me!

A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _Every Night_ by Paul McCartney, from his album _McCartney_.

Morning Brings A New Day

Walking over to his wife as she was standing in front of the windows looking down on the beach, Castle wrapped his arms around her and kissed her shoulder through her blouse. "What is it?" he asked as he saw her attention was focused down on the beach.

"It looks cold," Beckett said. She turned to her husband and smiled at him before saying, "Veronica went by and she was bundled up."

"Well… we thought we'd have to take them in the car anyways," Castle said. He then pulled away from her and said as she turned to him, "Think they'll want to start walking by themselves this spring? Or at least Julia?"

"I doubt it," Beckett said with a smile. "Not until they're older likely… probably once Julia goes to the middle school." She wasn't surprised when her husband nodded to that and began to look thoughtful before she said, "We need to get them up."

Following her out of the room with another nod Castle said, "I'll go wake up Eliza."

"Alright," Beckett said, stopping at the doorway to their oldest's room to watch him walk down the hall. She wasn't surprised when he walked inside quickly and she smiled to herself briefly before she went into the room.

Feeling someone shaking her Julia opened her eyes and saw that her mother was standing next to her bed. "Morning Mommy," she said sleepily. "Is it Tuesday now?"

"It is," Beckett replied. "Your daddy's getting your sister up and ready."

"Are you making breakfast?" Julia asked as she pushed herself up and then hugged Macca who came over to her.

"I think so," Beckett said. "Are you up?"

"Yeah, I'll get up right now," Julia said. She wrapped her arms around her mother's neck when she leaned over to hug her and kissed her cheek. She smiled when her mother pressed her lips to the top of her head and then slid off the bed when Beckett had left.

"Mommy!" Eliza cried happily seeing her come in.

"Here you are love," Castle said, handing his wife the small pile of clothes he had.

"You're going to get breakfast ready?" Beckett asked, taking what their daughter wanted to wear.

"I was planning on it," Castle replied with a nod. "Since you had to do that when I wasn't here."

"I said it's kay Mommy," Eliza told her, watching the two as she stood on the bed.

"I'll get it tomorrow," Beckett said, turning to look at her husband. She wasn't surprised when he leaned over to her and they kissed briefly but firmly before he was leaving. She turned to their youngest and said, "Alright sweetie, let's get you dressed so you're not late."

"I don't wanna be late," Eliza said as she raised her arms so her mother could take off her shirt.

"We won't be," Beckett assured her. She then focused on getting the toddler ready until she was dressed and her hair brushed. "Now we should see if your sister's ready," she said as she picked her up and put her on her hip.

Looking out into her bedroom when she heard footsteps Julia smiled and said, "Morning Lizzy."

"Morning Jules," Eliza said. "Did you see Daddy?"

"Yeah he came in to hug me good morning," Julia explained.

"Are we gonna walk?" Eliza asked.

"Are you ready sweetie?" Beckett then said to her oldest before she could answer her sister's question.

"Yeah we can go," Julia replied with a nod before they began to walk together out of her room.

Hearing everyone coming down the stairs Castle smiled as he looked down the hall and soon saw that they were heading towards him. "Good timing, the oatmeal is ready," he told his wife.

At that Julia hurried ahead of her mother and sister and began to set out the stack of bowls that her father had gotten for her. She looked over at Eliza who joined her, beginning to set out the napkins before she herself laid out the spoons. "It's ready Mommy," she said once they were finished.

"So are we," Beckett said with a smile before she and Castle headed over to the table with the oatmeal and orange juice she'd finished up for him. After they were all gathered around the table she looked at the others and said, "It's been a while."

"I know, feels strange in a way," Castle said as he was preparing his oatmeal.

"Is that bad?" Julia asked him.

"No," Castle said quickly. "Like we were saying yesterday we've been gone for so long we need to get used to this again. But don't worry," he said as he noticed that Eliza appeared a little dismayed. "We'll do that very fast."

"I hope so," the toddler said firmly.

"I was thinking Rick," Beckett said when the girls both busied themselves with their food. "We were talking about taking Eliza to the market with us after lunch but we'd have to take her out if we do that."

Castle paused but then nodded saying, "We could just go after we take them to school."

"Daddy," Eliza complained.

Since he looked at her then Beckett smiled and said, "Alright I guess we could go out for lunch but nothing too big."

"The Japanese place?" Castle suggested.

"I like that Mommy," Eliza said seriously.

Running her hand over the back of her daughter's hair Beckett nodded and then said, "We'll go there."

"I don't care," Julia said quickly when her parents then looked over at her. "Really," she said as she could tell that her father looked doubtful. "Okay, maybe a little bit but I'm still gonna be in school."

"Is it the fact we're going out to lunch or that we're spending time with her?" Castle then asked her.

"The second one," Julia replied with a nod.

"We'll spend time with you after school of course," Beckett said, standing up since they were finished with their food. "Speaking of that we need to go to the school."

Though the girls groaned at that announcement they hurried to help their parents get ready as they were looking forward to seeing their friends again. They washed up together and then waited at the foyer before Castle and Beckett joined them.

"Did you say goodbye to Macca and Rita?" Beckett asked them.

"Yeah, they'll be good today," Julia said with a smile as the two dogs were lying down by then, watching them.

"I'm sure they will, we'll see them when we come back," Castle commented as he was helping Eliza into her coat.

"Oh Mommy," the toddler said suddenly. "What about horsies?"

"We're going to have to wait," Beckett said, putting on her grey Stella coat though she gave a smile to her. "Since the snow is definitely covering the trails now."

"Too bad," Julia said.

"We'll see how things are this weekend," Beckett said, not surprised when she noticed her daughter looking thoughtful.

"I was thinking the same love," Castle said to her. "But yeah, she's right Julia it depends on the weather."

"I hope it's good… wait, the ball-" Julia started to say.

"We're going to try and get back as soon as we can on Sunday," Castle said as he knew she'd suddenly remembered he and her mother would be going to the city that weekend. "Probably in the early afternoon. And of course there's always Saturday morning."

"We can meet you at the stables," Beckett commented. She smiled when the girls gasped in delight and then said, "Come on," before she and Castle led them to the garage to get into the car to leave.

Driving them to the school Castle said, "I hope I can get a parking spot…"

"Right there," Beckett said, nodding ahead of them. "You weren't going to look that way?" she asked him with a smile on her face.

"I figured you'd take care of that side," Castle said before he smiled widely at her. He turned off the car then as she rolled her eyes; still smiling; and he helped her get the girls out from the back.

"They're probably inside if they're here sweetie," Beckett told Julia as she walked with her.

"Just in case," the little girl said, looking around the parking lot before they got to the gate to walk inside the school.

When they were in the elementary school building Castle led them to Eliza's class before he paused and then smiled seeing some people in front of it. "I don't think you need to look anymore Julia," he said as he turned to look at her.

"Mari!" the little girl cried as she then ran over to her friend, hugging her tightly.

"I'm so glad to see you!" Mari said when they let go of each other. "I wish we could talk now."

"Me too," Julia said, nodding. "We have to wait for recess though."

"We were going to leave her here with you," David said, shaking Castle's hand and then hugging Beckett with one arm in greeting. "So they could spend some time together."

"If you don't mind," Rebecca then told them.

"We don't," Beckett said, smiling as Julia and Mari were looking at them hopefully.

"We'll see you after school sweetie," Rebecca said.

Looking at her friend Julia then whispered, "Want to come over?"

"She can if it's okay with you," David said. When his daughter and Julia looked at him he said, "We could hear."

"It's fine," Beckett said, Castle nodding. "Did you say goodbye already?" When her friend nodded she said, "We'll have her over for dinner too."

"Thank you!" Mari said sharing an excited look with Julia. She hugged her parents quickly and waved goodbye to Dani in their father's arms before they left saying goodbye to the others. She then turned to them and smiled as the girls then looked at Castle and Beckett.

"Who do you want to take you inside sweetie?" Beckett asked the toddler. "No surprise there," she said to her husband with a smile when their youngest had pointed to him.

"I know," Castle said, watching as Eliza hugged Mari.

"I'll see you at recess," the little girl said with a smile.

"For Dani too," Eliza said in a matter of fact tone of voice. She then hugged her sister quickly and said, "Will we play?"

"Yeah I'll come down with Mari," Julia replied.

"Have a good day sweetie," Beckett told Eliza as she picked up her daughter. "And pay attention okay?"

"Kay," the toddler said, twirling a strand of her mother's hair around her finger.

"What is it sweetie?" Beckett asked, wondering what was troubling her.

"Make sure Daddy stays?" Eliza asked.

Beckett smiled at her husband and kissed their youngest's cheek saying, "Trust me he's not going anywhere outside the state for a long time."

"Yep, I'm staying for a while," Castle said, nodding to the toddler reassuringly.

"Now you know," Beckett said. "We'll see you before lunch Eliza." Giving her a final kiss she then set her down and watched her go with Castle into the classroom.

"I'm not surprised she's worried," Julia told her mother then as they waited. "But I told her he wasn't going to go again… not without you."

"As time goes on I'm sure she'll stop worrying about that so much," Beckett said with a smile, putting her hand on Julia's shoulder as she leaned against her.

"You're all set," Castle said to Eliza once he had her outer layers off. "We'll see you soon okay?"

"I know Daddy," the toddler replied, smiling up at him. She shared a hug with him and said, "Have a good day too."

"I will," Castle said with a smile. He picked her up and then shared a kiss with her before saying, "I get to be with your mom." He wasn't surprised when she nodded and he kissed her temple before setting her back down. "Have fun before we pick you up," he said then.

"I will," Eliza said, beaming at him before she went over to a table where some of her friends were coloring together.

Castle couldn't help smiling at the way his daughter had and he made himself leave the room to go back out to Beckett and the two girls. "She's set," he told his wife as they then walked over to the stairs behind Julia and Mari.

"Good, you missed that didn't you?" Beckett said with a smile at him.

" _Everything about being home I did_ ," Castle said with a nod, speaking in Irish since it allowed him to speak a little louder.

Beckett nodded herself and then went with him over to Mari's classroom saying to her as she and Julia hugged, "You'll need to do homework of course but we'll let you two play when you're done of course."

"Can't wait," Mari said. "See you at the class after," she then said to Castle and Beckett. "See you at recess," she told Julia. Giving them all a final wave she disappeared into her classroom, looking at the time and wondering how she was going to last until lunch to get to hear about what her best friend had done on her vacation.

"Okay sweetie," Beckett said to Julia first once they were in front of her classroom. "Have a great day and we'll see what you do today in your dance class."

"Can't wait for that," the little girl replied, smiling at her. They embraced quickly before she kissed her mother's cheek after she'd done the same to her. "Did Lizzy tell you to have a good day?" she asked her father as she turned to him.

"Of course," Castle said, hugging her as she was doing so to him tightly.

"Good, I'm gonna say the same thing," Julia said. She smiled when he laughed slightly and then pulled away saying, "See you at the class."

"We'll be there," Castle promised. "Have a good day."

"We love you sweetie," Beckett added.

"Love you too, bye," Julia said.

Once their daughter was in the room Castle took his wife's hand and they went back to their car where he allowed her to drive home. Once they were close he was startled to see a delivery truck in front of the gate before he remembered. "Stop here," he told his wife quickly.

Though she wanted to ask what he'd ordered Beckett pulled the car up to the truck and watched her husband get out. She was tempted to roll down the window to hear what he was saying to the man but decided it was a little cold for eavesdropping; not thinking the delivery man would know what was in the package either.

"Thanks so much," Castle said after he'd signed for the box. After the truck had pulled away he waited for Beckett to come up to him and once he was in the car he said, "You'll see, very shortly. Unless you wanted to do something else now?"

Shaking her head Beckett said, "The laundry I can start before we get Eliza."

Castle smiled, since he knew she really wanted to see what he had, but didn't comment on it verbally before they were in the garage. He greeted the dogs with her and walked to the foyer to get their outer layers put away.

All while they'd been doing that Beckett had watched the way her husband was so careful with the box. She had an idea it was delicate but far too small for a Lladro which had first come to mind with the word delicate. Finally they were ready and she was about to lead him to the kitchen to open the package when he pulled on her hand and led her to the stairs.

"Stay in the family room Macca, Rita," Castle called to their dogs who had gone to the doorway of the room. When he and Beckett were in their room he turned to her and said, "I'm sure you're wondering why we're in here."

"Not completely," Beckett said. She smiled when she saw his surprise at that and reminded him, "We talked about it last night and we're agreed."

"Okay so let me show you what this is," Castle said while he was walking to the door and closing it. Something came to mind then and he rushed over to the bathroom for a brief moment before he returned to her and the box which he set on the bed after setting some things on her nightstand. He then turned back to the bed and cut open the box and pulled out a long flatter wooden box as well as another cardboard box that was much smaller. "You can open this," he said, giving her the wood box.

Taking it Beckett pushed up the lid and said, "Brushes?"

"For calligraphy," Castle pointed out to her with a nod. "And this of course," he said as he was opening the smaller box. "Is the ink. Non-toxic so it can be used on… skin."

Beckett smiled a little at his slight hesitation and said, "I'd figured that out already."

"I thought since we decided against the henna when we looked into it we could try this out," Castle said as he watched her closely.

Closing the box Beckett stepped up to him and kissed him, feeling his relief in the way he held onto the small of her back as tightly as he was doing. When they'd parted she said, "Better set that down."

"Right," Castle said in realization before he reached over to take the box of brushes. Setting them down on her nightstand he wasn't surprised to feel his wife's hands on his back and he turned around to her to wrap his arms around her, bringing her up against his body. "It's been too long," he told her seriously before he kissed her passionately, their tongues tangling together almost instantly.

Beckett wasn't surprised when her husband was soon letting go of her to reach between them and began to unbutton her blouse. When they had to catch their breath she told him, "It hasn't been _that_ long." At his sudden pausing she smiled at him and said, "I'm kidding; it has."

Shuddering Castle reached for her again and managed to get the last button open before he spread it apart and leaned down to kiss around above her breasts. He groaned as he felt how warm her skin was to his lips and he eventually began to flick his tongue out against it to her soft cries. "Fuck Kate… I almost forgot the brushes," he said with a laugh as he straightened up.

"It's alright," Beckett said, her whole body feeling as if it was on fire from his touch. "Let's just hurry." She was relieved when he nodded in agreement with her and together they began to undress one another in a rush. Naked she allowed him to help her back onto their bed, not surprised when he followed her and kissed her before the back of her head even touched the pillows he'd propped up for her. She held onto him, running her hands over the back of his head and then his back before he was moving away from her. "What are you going to do?" she then said as he turned back to the nightstand.

"I've been practicing this," Castle said in response, tapping her wedding band.

"Really?" Beckett asked though she wasn't surprised it'd been _prem_ since he'd expressed multiple times his desire to write that word on her.

"Really," Castle said. "Though I had no idea I was going to have the chance to do this exactly." He started to reach for the brush he'd already decided to use but then hesitated for a moment.

"What?" Beckett asked him as she was watching him closely.

"Would you like to test these out?" Castle asked, indicating the brushes. When his wife looked startled he quickly explained, "I want to make sure they're not too coarse for your skin. It would kind of defeat the purpose if they were so I'd like to test all them out… except for this one." He was picking up the thinnest brush then and showed it to her saying, "I'm using this one."

"Okay," Beckett replied. "You should start biggest to smallest."

Nodding to that Castle picked up the thickest of the brushes and then said, "Okay, I'll just brush this across you. Let me honestly know what you think."

"Okay," Beckett said, unable to help smile at how serious he was being. She watched him lower it and when she felt the hairs of it gently caressing her abdomen she felt her skin nearly ripple in response which made her moan softly. "Maybe you should blindfold me," she then told him.

"No," Castle said so firmly to that that his wife looked at him, startled.

"I could try it Rick," Beckett told him.

Shaking his head he said, "Do you honestly want to?"

Beckett was about to answer yes before she hesitated and then shook her head once. She then seemed to recover and said to him, "I would try again."

"We never did that in the first place," Castle reminded her. "And if you think about it, it would be like I'm trying to control you. You can close your eyes love and then you'll be controlling it; I can't and don't want to force you to do that."

"Some people would think we're weird wanting so much self control," Beckett said with a slight smile though she was touched by his words.

"Well they're not in bed with us," Castle said simply. "Now, I should ask this while I can is there anywhere you don't want me touching?"

"Here," Beckett said, gesturing to the apex of her legs.

"But… oh," Castle started to protest before he figured out what she meant. "So just skin." When his wife nodded he couldn't help lean over and kiss her. It was a quick one then and when he pulled away he said, "Do you want to close your eyes?"

Smiling at him Beckett did exactly that then to answer his question and then gasped when he ran the brush over her. That time though it was brushing over her breasts and she trembled slightly in pleasure as he would at first stroke her with the hairs in a long stroke. The next would be very short and by the time he stopped her heart was pounding heavily and she was even more aroused than she'd been in the first place. "That was… interesting," she said to him as she saw him watching her closely when she looked at him.

"But you enjoyed it," Castle stated as he switched to the next brush. He was relieved at her nod and he waited for her to close her eyes again before he started to brush against her skin where he could again. He went all over her body with each brush, saving the last, and when he had gotten to the very last one he'd be using on her he said, "I don't want us to use those on me, yet."

"I agree," Beckett said. She nearly laughed at the stunned expression on his face and told him, "I need to figure out what to put on you first before we get to that."

"Oh," Castle said, pausing for a moment to unscrew the cover of the ink bottle. "I hope you get something soon."

"Me too," Beckett replied with a smile. She was surprised when he picked up a washcloth then that was damp; guessing that was why he'd gone into the bathroom earlier; and ran it over her.

"Your skin needs to be clean and dry," Castle explained before he grabbed a dry washcloth and wiped it off. "So here?" he asked since he had intended to take her wish for the writing to be low on her hip to heart.

"Right there," Beckett replied as she watched him pick up the brush. She bit her lower lip as he dipped it and then pressed the excess ink out before he turned to her.

"Are you ready?" Castle asked her. When she nodded immediately he brought the brush down to her skin and then made the first symbol as soon as Beckett had closed her eyes. He looked up at her and watched her biting her lower lip, feeling a thrill go through him at the sight of how much that was arousing her and he began to go through the rest of the word. Once it was complete he moved away and set down the brush on the nightstand as she opened her eyes again.

Since she was sitting up enough Beckett could see the word on her hip and she reached down, touching her skin surrounding it before saying, "How does it look?" There was no surprise when her husband leaned down to her at that point and kissed her deeply on the lips, one hand reaching up to cup her left breast very gently. When they'd parted she smiled and said, "That's it?"

"Did you want to do more?" Castle asked, wondering if she did and what he could do if that was the case.

"No, I enjoyed that so you know," Beckett appraised him.

"Me too," Castle said, unable to help give into his temptation then. He leaned down and gently began to blow on her skin, watching her shiver in response before he pulled away carefully. "What do we do now?" he asked then.

Glancing down at his erection, which was by then fully engorged and against his stomach, Beckett said, "Clean it off, hurry."

A little startled at her sharp tone of voice Castle grabbed the wet washcloth before he began to clean away the ink saying, "I have to admit I'm glad it's gone for now."

Smiling Beckett said, "I know, you've told me you prefer that. Now come here."

"But I need to dry-" Castle started to say before he was suddenly being pulled onto her body. It took him a brief moment to recover before he was kissing her back frantically, feeling her at the same time rubbing her body against his own. He couldn't stop himself from groaning at the feel of their skin just barely brushing together and was so involved with that that he nearly didn't feel her hand curling around his erection. When he finally did he breathed out hard in pleasure before he helped her in getting him inside of her, making him breathe out in joy at the sensation as she was incredibly aroused. "Kate," he breathed out again.

"I know," Beckett moaned. She took a moment to come back to herself before she then wrapped her right leg high up around his side. Once she was satisfied where it was she put her left around his waist and in time for his first thrust. Crying out his name as he sank into her deeply she bit at her lower lip for a brief moment before she had to stop as he was kissing her hard. She felt the throb of her lips as they were working their tongues together and she allowed her husband to tease her repeatedly until finally she turned her head, needing to breathe desperately a short time later. "Oh god… Rick… I can't…" she breathed out, taking in everything he was making her feel at that moment and wondering if it was going to get any more intense than what she was experiencing already.

Castle moved his lips around her neck before he began to suck at her pulse, using his tongue hungrily to lick at her skin. Hearing her crying out his name repeatedly he moved his head up so he was near enough for her to hear him as he spoke to her. "Tell me how this feels love," he murmured to her huskily. "Tell me," he repeated when she just moaned though he couldn't blame her, the pleasure was nearly overwhelming with how strong the friction was between them.

"I… I can't…" Beckett began to say again. She trailed off as her husband started to slow down and she told him, "I feel… you're so deep inside me Rick… it feels… _incredible_."

Shuddering at her emphasis on the last word Castle said in response, "I know, you're perfect Kate. So good…" He sped up at that moment, watching her as she closed her eyes at that and he felt her moving with him in perfect time soon after. He kissed her all over her upper body while trying to handle the reawakening of the friction between them before he slid down to her breasts, panting and calling her name.

As he began to suckle at her right breast Beckett held onto the back of Castle's head with her hand, her eyes nearly rolling into the back of her head at what she felt. Everything seemed to become more intense and she had no idea how exactly she was going to be able to take what he was doing to her. But every thrust he made inside of her she was still lasting and she cried out harder as he nipped at her breast before he moved to the other. His tongue was hungry against her, flicking at the taut nub he had within his mouth. She became a little lost in that moment, trying to just take in what her husband was doing to her and making her feel and it became a struggle as she was at times eager to race to her own end. But she just managed to keep from falling and when she realized she had more time; they had more time; she pushed on the back of his head to bring him up to her and they began kissing hungrily.

After some time Castle became a little breathless but he didn't care, it gave him the chance to take more of her body that he could reach. He planned methodically in his head where he would go and that helped his endurance greatly since it was just enough of a distraction. It was difficult to keep to that though as he felt her around his length very tight and warm, heard her response to him in her gasps and cries, could smell the scent of roses that was on her skin and even could taste her as he began to lick and suck around her neck once more. He had no idea how long his senses were overwhelmed by her but finally he couldn't ignore the one that was being stimulated most. He pulled away from her breasts which he'd taken again and he murmured to her, "Come for me Kate, I can feel you so close… so beautiful love. _Come now_."

The slightly harsher tone of voice that her husband took was almost too much for Beckett and she started to writhe a little uncontrollably. But when he suddenly struck her clit straight on she lost every last vestige of self control and cried out heavily to him, "Oh god, please Rick I'm coming, you need to… come with me! I love you! Rick I love you!" as her orgasm seemed to take over every last one of her senses until she was reduced to calling his name repeatedly. As he began to chant hers she soon felt him joining her as she'd asked and she felt the ecstasy spike slightly while she clung to him. She had no idea how long it took but finally she was slowly coming down and she sighed heavily in joy before she let her husband take the last of his pleasure before he slumped slightly against her.

"God that was… remarkable," Castle told her. When he looked at her he wasn't surprised when she glanced at him questioningly and he said, "Trying to think of other words for it."

Beckett smiled and then said, "That's a good one, I'll agree." She was surprised when then he pulled away and said, "What is it?"

"Remember my journal?" Castle asked.

"Not hard to forget," Beckett said as she sat up and watched her husband as he went over to the closet where the journal had ended up. She sighed as she could still feel herself throbbing heavily in the aftermath of their intimacy and a thought came to mind as she then reached over to her phone on the nightstand. Smiling at the sight of the pens there she quickly picked up her phone before she became distracted and checked the time. She then went into the phone rapidly to get something set before she heard her husband returning to her. "So what do you want to do?" she asked with a smile as she watched him walk to her.

"Finish this," Castle told her, getting back on the bed. He opened the pen and then said, "Do you want to write?"

"It's yours and I already did," Beckett said simply with a smile. "Go ahead."

Nodding Castle began to write and he read at the same time saying, " _Kate, I'm writing this to you while you're with me so that can mean only one thing; I'm finally home with you. So this is just a formality to wrap things up. I guess the one thing I learned from this was that I love you. Absolutely and completely. Another thing is that we can't be apart for too long. Sure, a night or two in the city is doable but any longer than that and we're going to have some real issues_."

Laughing softly Beckett said, "So self pleasuring won't work at all?"

"Not enough," Castle said simply. He was about to write another paragraph when he paused as he felt his wife lean against him, her bare breasts pressing against the back of his arm and back itself. He looked at her and then began again saying, " _Since I'm home now with you there isn't much to say. We're together and we're with our girls and now we're home. Not in the sense of the building but the four of us now in it makes it home. I'll end here and say that I enjoyed having you in a way here to tell you what I sometimes can't tell you Kate. And hope that I'll never need to use this again. I love you and I will keep doing so because you are the love of my life; I need you. Always_."

"Hmm, that's a nice ending," Beckett said, kissing the back of his shoulder and taking the book. "Where do you want to keep this?" she asked.

Thinking about that for a moment as he then watched her putting away the journal on her nightstand Castle then said, "The safe?"

"Sure," Beckett said before she then turned her head and started to lean against him. To her surprise Castle stopped her and she asked, "What?"

"Are you sure? We do have to get ready and get Eliza," Castle replied though he wanted her again as he'd said in his entry.

"There's more than enough time," Beckett said in reply simply before she made him lay back, getting on top of him.

"You're right," Castle said with a groan as they coupled together once more, realizing she'd been setting her alarm on her phone. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and they began to move together again, making love before they slipped into something a little rougher, unable to really help it as their desire had grown with each word he'd written in his entry.

* * *

Watching the children from other classes walk out into the entry of the elementary school Beckett said, "They must have had some trouble getting them ready to go," to her husband as he was standing next to her.

"There they are," Castle said when he saw their daughter's fellow students.

"And there she is," Beckett said with a smile as she soon after caught sight of Eliza.

As soon as she could go to them the toddler rushed to her parents and hugged them as tightly as she could saying, "You came to get me!"

"Of course we did," Castle said, picking her up then and kissing her cheek. "We have a lunch date remember?"

Giggling Eliza nodded and asked, "Where do we go?"

"The café near the market," Beckett said simply. "We'll save the Japanese place for when we can go with your sister too; to be fair."

"Ooh… kay," Eliza said, smiling at them. She let her father pull her scarf up over her mouth as they walked over to the doors and playfully pretended to move it away before he squeezed her shoulder.

Walking outside Beckett pressed herself closer to her husband on his other side to try and brace herself against the cold. She couldn't help then recall how warm she'd been with Castle before, when they'd made love a little wildly for a third time. She allowed herself a moment to think that over before she finally pushed the thought aside and focused on getting to their car. Luckily they'd been able to park close to the school so they were soon inside it and Castle was driving them towards the market. The café they'd chosen to have lunch at while they'd been dressing was one they would usually visit if they needed to eat a meal when they had to go shopping for food. The girls knew it well and enjoyed it though it served healthier food.

Eliza, after her parents had ordered, took her father's phone that he gave her and said, "I can play?"

"You can," Castle replied though he was looking at his wife at the same time.

"Go ahead," Beckett said with a smile, slightly shaking her head in amusement. When their youngest was involved with her word game she looked back to Castle and said, " _Do you still want to write tomorrow_?"

" _Do you want to talk about that now_?" Castle said back. He wasn't surprised when his wife simply inclined her head once and he said, " _Okay, so we're talking as_ Moor _and_ Green _in the_ Orangery."

" _I think we have our killer_ ," Beckett said, glancing around and wondering why exactly she had suggested they talk about the book then since they'd never done it before in much detail while they were out in public.

" _I think so too but how can we honestly prove that he's been the one_?" Castle said, glancing to Eliza who was still involved in her game.

" _He's been there every time, he is a doctor after all_ ," Beckett said. " _But is it too obvious that it would be him_."

" _I think we have it_ ," Castle said. " _Let's go right now; since everyone thinks we're in our room at this point; and see if we can't surprise him_." He then became thoughtful and said, " _Want to have them pause there? It seems like it's a short conversation_."

" _It is_ ," Beckett replied, frowning a little. " _What if, instead of just_ Green _saying that he's a doctor, she lists the_ vics _and the opportunities he had to kill them_?"

" _Yeah, I think that could work_ ," Castle said, nodding rapidly. He then looked with her at Eliza and saw that the toddler was looking at them with a smile. "Were you listening in on us?"

"Yeah huh," the toddler told them, nodding her head. "But what did you say?"

Smiling Beckett said, "The book, we're nearly finished."

"Think we could manage to finish before Japan?" Castle then asked her.

"We'd need to work on it," Beckett said before she had to pause as their food was served. They'd decided to share a vegetarian pizza and after they all had a slice she said to her husband, "We couldn't let ourselves be distracted."

"Oh, that's true," Castle said, hurriedly finishing his bite before he spoke. He was a little disappointed in the thought that they'd have to delay any chance of repeating what they'd done that morning in the future, especially if they had any cases until Spring Break, and he was concentrating so hard on that that he almost didn't realize his wife had put her hand on his arm until she leaned over to him. "What?" he asked in surprise when he noticed her.

" _It's not going to be all work_ ," Beckett told him with a slight smirk. " _I'll need some play as much as you do_."

" _Boy do I look forward to that_ ," Castle said seriously before they turned again to Eliza. They saw she was happily eating her slice of pizza and he said, "How did we get her to eat her veggies?" in English so she could understand him.

"I'm not sure," Beckett said, smiling as Eliza was doing the same at them both widely. "Take a drink of water sweetie," she said, giving her her glass to help her drink.

"What do you get at the market?" Eliza then asked them.

"We need lunches and dinners for the week," Castle replied. "And stuff for sandwiches for your sister too."

"Will she like lunch at school?" Eliza said.

"I think it's taco Tuesday so yes, she likely will," Beckett said, trying to recall what was on the calendar they got for the school's lunches.

"Me too," Castle commented.

"No tacos tonight Rick," Beckett told him as she knew what he was thinking of.

"You're no fun," Castle said. "Okay, then you two are going to have to help me with dinner tonight."

"I think you should make more pizzas Daddy," Eliza said seriously.

"I think that's the same problem with making tacos too," Castle said. "We'll think of something different when we go I'm sure, we-"

"Pasgetti!" Eliza said eagerly.

Castle laughed with his wife and then said, "Spaghetti?" When the toddler nodded rapidly he said, "That might be doable."

"What about alfredo?" Beckett asked him.

"Sure," Castle said with a nod.

"That's quicker to make," Beckett pointed out to him with a smile. "So we can play with them more… or Eliza."

"Jules has Mari to play with," Eliza said while she waited for her mother to give her another slice. "But I will play with you." She then became thoughtful and asked, "Can we paint?"

"That would be perfect," Castle said. "We haven't gotten to paint with you for a long, long time."

"I think she's eager for that," Beckett said, smiling as she watched their youngest wriggle around slightly in her chair.

"It looks like it," Castle said, nodding in agreement. "Are we're set on how we're ending the book?" he asked, speaking in English since the couple that had been at a table near theirs had left by then.

"Between Moor and Green, what else?" Beckett asked. Looking at her husband something came to mind with that and she then said, "You want to hint at the engagement for the next book?"

"I think that would be really good to do," Castle said firmly. "That way people will come back to the next book."

"Alright," Beckett said. She smiled, not surprised when her husband looked startled at how quickly she had agreed, and then told him, "I think it needs to be there because we haven't had much hinting at it before and it might be sudden."  
"I'd had that thought, no one to push them to get engaged," Castle said. "No mother pushing them."

Beckett smiled and said, "You're right."

"Mommy," Eliza said then. Since by then they'd finished their meal she had to stop so her mother could wipe off her mouth. Once she was finished she said, "What does Daddy mean?"

"You know I proposed to your mom at Christmas," Castle said since Beckett had looked to him to tell the story. After Eliza had nodded he smiled at the memory and said, "I'd been very quiet about what I was going to do and your gram thought she needed to push me a little, so I would know that everyone was ready for us to become a family. So she told me to make it official."

"What does it mean Daddy?" Eliza asked as he picked her up out of her seat.

"To ask your mom to marry me," Castle replied. "I didn't tell her I was doing that but it let me know that she wanted me to ask at least."

"Good, I'm glad Gram likes Mommy," Eliza told him before they stopped at the door to put on their outer layers. After hers were on she watched her parents get ready and then waited for her father to pick her back up as they went to the market which was in walking distance. "Are you cold Daddy?" she asked though her voice was muffled by her scarf.

"I'm fine sweetheart," Castle replied. "You Kate?"

"Fine," Beckett said with a smile as she walked leaning against his side again. "Are you going to go in the cart this time?" she directed to Eliza as they entered the market.

"I wanna walk," the toddler replied decisively.

"Then you know you need to stay with me and hold my hand," Beckett said.

"Our hands, we need to take turns Kate," Castle told her as he got a shopping cart.

"Yeah Mommy," Eliza said before she giggled at the expression on her mother's face.

"Alright, we'll take turns," Beckett said, shaking her head in amusement. They headed together to the produce first and she wasn't surprised when Eliza pulled her straight to some of the fruit.

"That Mommy," Eliza said, pointing to the apples that were available.

"I know, I was going to get some for your snack today once your sister's home," Beckett said, grabbing a plastic bag. She chose three different kinds of apples at Eliza's direction, smiling at her youngest when tried to pick out particular ones too. As she usually ended up doing when they were at the market she taught her again about how to pick the fruit.

"Hey you two," Castle said as he walked over to them. "Picked up some oranges for us."

"Great, here're the apples," Becket said. "Ready to keep going?"

"Yeah," Eliza said with a smile. "Now for veggies!"

Castle couldn't help laugh as the toddler pointed in that direction and he followed Beckett who was following her, wondering how the rest of their shopping trip was going to go with Eliza's obvious exuberance and ready to find out as they continued on through the store.


	33. Morning Brings A New Day (Part 2)

"Class," Ms. Grey said. "Since we've worked a bit on our Foxtrot moves we can now go back to a dance we haven't done in a while." She smiled as her students looked at each other and said, "The Argentine Tango. And something you will be eager to hear, we'll be starting on lifts today." There was no surprise when there were more exclamations in reaction to that and she said, "Now don't expect to do full lifts, you need to be a little older for that. But we will of course start learning what you'll be able to accomplish today."

Watching as the teacher began to teach the students a few steps before going into partial lifts where the girls were kicking up both legs while their partners held them up, Castle and Beckett watched their daughter who was dancing with Peter next to Mari and her new partner that had just been introduced to the class that day. His name was Clive and he was in the same fourth grade class that the little girl was so she was at least familiar with him. They had been concerned; for their friends' sakes; as to how Mari would be dancing with him but so far they were doing well together.

"Very nice Julia," Ms. Grey said, nodding her head as she then went to each couple to check their progress. "You kick high but remember to control yourself enough so you won't lose control once you step back down."

Nodding Julia looked over at her parents and sister, smiling at them before she watched Mari and Clive try the steps and lift. She beamed at her friend when they did well too, wondering if the others were aware that once in a while at lunch she'd teach the two moves with Peter so they had had experience dancing together already. She then turned her attention to her teacher as she had them begin to dance several moves before they tried to integrate the lift they'd learned.

"Very nice, it needs more practice of course," Ms. Grey said after they'd tried the steps and lift for a third time. "But for now I need to let you all head home as we're at the end of the class. We'll try it again tomorrow; you can go and get changed."

"Now we can go play at home?" Eliza asked her parents when everyone had gone to the changing rooms.

"You can play when we get there," Castle said first.

"Your sister and Mari will very likely have homework to do you know," Beckett reminded her.

Frowning Eliza then nodded and looking out at the dance floor something came to mind before she then looked to the door to the girls' changing room, waiting for her sister and Mari. When they finally came out she rushed over to her sister first and started to babble excitedly to her.

"I think we could," Julia said, able to understand her sister though she was speaking very rapidly.

"How do you know what she's talking about?" Mari said in awe.

"She's my sister, I've heard her speaking since she first started to say words," Julia said with a shrug. She then turned her attention back to her sister and told her, "We just need to ask Mommy."

"Kay," Eliza said before taking their hands and walking back to Castle and Beckett.

"Are you guys ready to go?" the latter asked in amusement as she watched them.

"Yeah, Lizzy just wanted to do something first," Julia explained. She put on her scarf before she went with the rest of her family, holding Mari's hand as they went outside the building and then headed to the car.

Driving them home that time Beckett wasn't surprised to hear the girls' chatter in the backseat which made her smile. As she pulled into the garage she thought she'd heard the word dress but wasn't sure. Shaking that off she helped Castle with getting them out and in the foyer got the outer layers off of Eliza while he helped the girls. "Okay, now we're all set you two need to head to the table to get your homework done," she told them.

"I'll get their snack love," Castle let her know.

"Then I'll get Eliza's stuff ready," Beckett said. They were by then walking over to the kitchen and just as she was about to detour to the family room she was stopped by her daughter grabbing her hand. "What is it sweetie?" she asked her as the other three continued on with the dogs.

"I wanna do something else now," Eliza said, looking up at her. "Can we make something with beads?"

"I think so," Beckett replied, smiling at her and slightly ruffling her hair. She went with the toddler into the room where they grabbed the items they would need to make art with it.

"What are we having for a snack?" Julia asked as her mother and sister joined her and Mari at the table.

"Just apple slices with peanut butter," Castle replied from the kitchen, walking over to them with the plate. "And what are we doing?" he asked his wife as he saw the jar of beads on the table.

"Art with beads Daddy," Eliza replied before her mother could say anything. "Do you want to do that too?"

"Of course," Castle said, sitting on the other side of her.

"What homework do you two have today?" Beckett asked the two next to her.

"I have math," Julia said.

"Me too," Mari added. "And science."

"Me too, history?" Julia said before asking her friend.

"No, just those two," Mari said.

"Lucky," Julia said before smiling. "I just gotta read five pages though."

"Then you two better get started," Castle said. "Or else we'll finish with the beads before you."

The three girls giggling at that idea they all began to settle down and work on their respective activities while Castle and Beckett helped Eliza when she needed it, the room largely quiet until Julia and Mari were finishing up their homework.

As soon as she'd seen her sister and her friend were starting to put away their papers and books Eliza was climbing off her chair with her father's help. She rushed around to Julia and whispered to her before Julia was shaking her head.

"What's the mini-conspiracy?" Castle asked his wife.

"I'm not sure, and don't call it a conspiracy," Beckett told him. "You want to let them work with the beads with her now?" she asked.

"I'm done," Castle said, looking at his picture which just had some pinwheels since they were quicker to make. "Looks like we had the same idea," he told his wife as he saw she'd made the same pattern.

"Different colors though," Beckett said before she stood and went over to the hallway as Julia and Eliza were still gone after leaving to put their readied backpacks in the foyer. "Girls?" she called out. "You can use the beads now."

"Not yet," Julia said, hurrying back to her mother first and taking her hand.

"I guess I'll start dinner now," Castle said when his wife came back to him being pulled over to the stairs by their daughters.

"I can't make them stop," Beckett said, laughter heavy in her voice.

"We're just gonna go upstairs really quick," Julia explained. "Have fun alone a little Daddy."

"We will bring Mommy back!" Eliza called out as they were nearing the top of the staircase.

Castle couldn't help laugh and shook his head before his attention was diverted by his phone ringing on the kitchen table. He hurried over to it to make the call, surprised when he saw the number though he answered it soon after.

"I don't know," Beckett said when the girls let her go inside hers and Castle's room. "I'm not going to try it on."

"We still wanna see," Julia said, Eliza nodding next to her.

Next to them Mari said a little shyly, "I kinda do too."

"Do you know what your mom's going to wear?" Beckett asked her.

"Yeah, she showed us when we were over there," Mari said.

"We don't know what Lily is gonna wear but Eve told us it's really pale yellow," Julia said. "She said it's nice with her dark hair."

"She always did like that color," Beckett said, nodding her head. "Okay, I'll show it to you so you can see Mari, since Julia and Eliza already have."

"It's very pretty," Eliza said seriously once Beckett had headed over to the closet.

"Your mom will look pretty too," Julia said quickly.

"I think all our moms will," Mari said, smiling.

"Hold on," Beckett said when she'd come out with the dress in its cover. Setting it on the bed she took it out from the garment bag and held it up saying, "It might not be that bright… your mom is still wearing a celadon colored dress right?" directing that to Mari. When she nodded she continued saying, "It's not that bright compared to them but I think it still works."

"Yeah it's a nice color," Mari said, nodding her head as she reached out to the dress but paused.

"Go ahead," Beckett replied.

"How are you gonna have your hair Mommy?" Julia then asked.

"Yeah, up?" Eliza said eagerly hearing that.

"I was thinking over my shoulder," Beckett said, trying not to show her amusement at how much the two were interested in that.

"Show us," Julia said.

Beckett smiled for a moment before she put away the dress, using the time to put it back in the closet to put her hair over her shoulder.

"Oooh, perfect Mommy," Eliza said in awe when she was first to see her.

"Thank you now come on, you three need to go down and get to the beads," Beckett said. "Before we eat dinner. Unless you want to do that afterwards?"

"I think we want to play Clue," Julia said, smiling at her friend widely.

"Then we should go down," Beckett said.

"Wait, I can give Mari her things now," Julia said. "Can I do that?"

"Alright but you'll need to clean up the beads before you set the table," Beckett told them. She smiled when all three girls nodded and she led them to Julia's room before telling them to come down when they called them for dinner. She went down the stairs with Macca and Rita following her and detoured to feed the two their dinner before she went down the hall to the kitchen seeing her husband was just hanging up his phone.

Hearing a single set of footsteps Castle looked up and was slightly startled to see Beckett was on her own and became more so when he saw her hair. He was going to speak when she did so before he could while she was nearing him.

"Who was it?" Beckett asked her husband, not surprised to see him staring at her hair.

"Oh, that was somebody but I got a call before this one," Castle said after shaking himself. "It was from our agent, they want us to go on _Late Show_ to promote _Hide Behind Shades_ being released in paperback two days after Julia's birthday."

"Really?" Beckett asked interestedly.

"Yeah I took initiative and said we'd do it," Castle said, smiling at her reaction since he was well aware she was a fan of the host since he was too and they'd watched his previous show together since they'd become a couple. "So don't be nervous."

"Are you kidding? I'm looking forward to meeting Colbert," Beckett said. She was with him by then and kissed him on the lips before they parted and she said, "When is it?"

"The twelfth of March, that was where they could fit us in," Castle said. "And guess who'll be on before us…" he said slowly.

"Who?" Beckett asked.

"Jon Stewart," Castle answered.

"No," Beckett said in shock, since they'd watched The Daily Show as well when he'd hosted it.

"Yeah," Castle said with a smile on his face at that. "So we'll get to meet them both."

"That'll be amazing," Beckett said. "So now who was the second call from?"

"What'll hopefully be our Memorial Day weekend plans," Castle told her. He wasn't surprised when she looked at him questioningly so he then explained, "It was an opening for a villa at the Mirage."

"You want to take Julia to see _Love_?" Beckett asked. When her husband nodded once she then studied him and said, "You got us tickets already."

"Yeah I wanted to surprise you again and also it was the fact I had no clue if I'd get the tickets or this villa," Castle told her honestly.

"What about Alexis?" Beckett asked.

"I got tickets for her and Louis… or whoever she wants to take with her to see it as soon as she gets out of school," Castle replied.

"Most likely Louis," Beckett said, not surprised when he nodded his head. "And as for a hotel you only need to get them one bed." That time she wasn't surprised when her husband froze and she said, "You had to have guessed."

"No but I'm not shocked that you could see that," Castle said. "Has she spoken to you?"

"I haven't seen her since Christmas break in person," Beckett said. "But remember they started dating after they went back to Oxford."

"When?" Castle asked rapidly.

"Around the time you went to DC I would imagine," Beckett said simply. "I don't know for sure."

Sighing Castle said, "They have been dating consistently but I thought she would wait longer." That made him think of something and he said, "You think this is it?"

"Horrible way to word that Rick," Beckett said, shaking her head as she took over then in getting everything ready to make dinner. "Is this the one would have been better but still odd. Is she serious about him? Yes, I think she honestly is." She set down the box of pasta on the counter next to the stove and turning to him said, "Don't mention this to her okay, if she wants to talk to you about it then she will."

"She'll be careful right?" Castle then said. "Will he be careful?" he then said, his tone of voice becoming strangled.

Beckett couldn't help smile slightly at that before she put her hand on his arm to calm him down and she said, "Brennan told me that if there ever came a time his son and my stepdaughter would get to that; we both could see it was likely then of course; that he'd told him repeatedly to treat a woman as if she was the most important one on the planet. I think he is because Alexis is wildly happy. And he taught him to be very careful if relationships became physical."

Castle thought about that for a moment and then nodded saying, "That's true, I can tell she's been really happy too." He then couldn't help groaning and told his wife, "But I didn't want this to happen yet."

"She's grown up Rick, nearly twenty-five," Beckett said as she rubbed his upper arm comfortingly. "And as I've told my father when he's talked about my growing up I'm still his little girl. So Alexis is definitely yours."

"Thanks," Castle said, knowing she was right since his own daughter had said the exact same to him. "Speaking of girls we should get this ready."

"We should," Beckett said, smiling though she was going to the kitchen table. She had been about to help her husband with dinner but instead decided to let the girls have a little time with Mari. "So we'll need to head into the city come March," she commented as she cleaned up the art supplies.

"My mom isn't going to be able to come out here," Castle said. "She wants to keep going with her classes after this."

"Why don't we ask Rebecca or David when they come to get Mari?" Beckett asked.

"And if not them Veronica?" Castle asked. "It's just one night right?"

"Did you want to stay the night?" Beckett asked him. "Because they film in the evening and we could come home afterwards. We would just need someone to watch them after school and to when we come home."

"We'll ask," Castle said with a nod. He then turned his attention to the food, able to prepare it quickly since he was adept with pasta. "Okay," he told his wife when it was ready and he threw together a salad. "Better call them down. You set the table?" he then asked before she could go to the stairs.

"I'm letting Julia have more time with Mari," Beckett explained with a smile before she left him. Calling to the girls she waited for them to come down the stairs before she told Julia, "I set the table for you sweetie but just for tonight."

"Thanks Mommy," the little girl said, hugging her tightly.

"Hey you guys, did you give her the gifts you got for her?" Castle asked, directing the question to Julia.

"She did and I really like them," Mari said. "Thanks," she said again to her friend with a smile.

"And did she tell you about her trip there?" Castle asked.

"Yeah, at lunch," Mari answered as they gathered at the table. "Was he really your friend?"

Since the little girl was talking to her Beckett said, "Patrick is, we knew each other a long time ago at the Academy when we were training to become police." She then asked Mari, "Did she tell you about Maddy."

"Yeah," the little girl said, smiling at Eliza who was trying to get a noodle into her mouth. "She sounds cute, are they gonna come here one day?"

"Oh, Memorial Day," Castle said then.

"Yeah, we heard from them earlier before we picked you up Eliza," Beckett said. "Some of Trevor's family is going to visit them on that weekend."

"From South Africa?" Julia asked.

"They are but we do have a chance to see them in Ireland, they can make it for the ceremony," Beckett told the girls who looked disappointed.

"At least we can go to the beach," Julia commented.

When Eliza looked to them Beckett said, "You didn't tell us about your day at school sweetie."

Jumping at little the toddler then spoke about what she'd done in her class in a hurry, stopping at recess before Eliza looked to her sister.

Laughing slightly Julia then talked about what she'd done, including recess and lunch too before letting her friend tell them about her day. She then said as by then they were finishing up their food, "Can we play now?"

"We need to clean up," Beckett said as they got up and began clearing the table. "Help us and we can get to the game much faster."

Castle shared a smile with his wife when the girls all started to hurry to the sink with their plates and he told them, "Don't run or else you'll trip. And then you'll take longer to get to play."

Helping him clean the dishes as the girls cleared the rest of the table Beckett was soon following the three to the family room as Castle urged her to go with them as he could take care of the rest. "Alright," she said once she and Julia were starting to set the game up. Before she could say anything else she reached for her phone in her pocket as it was shaking and reading the text that it had alerted her to said, "We might have time for two games if you want to play it again."

"Was that my parents?" Mari asked interestedly.

"Your mom, your dad is coming in an hour to get you," Beckett said. She smiled when the little girl groaned and said, "Your mom also said that you have school tomorrow but she wants to have Julia and Eliza over for dinner tomorrow."

"Can we go?" Julia asked eagerly as she and her sister shared a look of excitement.

"I told her yes, we'll take you over after dance class," Beckett said.

"What are you and Daddy going to do?" Julia asked then.

Since her daughter was looking past her shoulder she knew Castle was behind her and Beckett said, "Oh we don't need to decide yet."

"She's right," Castle said, setting down the tray that he'd brought with him with mugs of hot chocolate for the girls and coffee for himself and Beckett. "Are we ready to play because I'm calling Colonel Mustard," he said as she sat next to his wife.

"After you shuffle the cards Daddy," Eliza said to him.

"You didn't even do that yet," Castle said teasingly to them. He smiled when his wife rolled her eyes but quickly got the three piles of cards set before the solution was chosen by Mari and he could shuffle the rest of the cards together.

When they had begun playing the girls started talking about their trip to Japan, begging Castle and Beckett to tell them what the two Disney parks would be like. The two demurred as they explained again they didn't know too much about them and instead told their daughters about how they would be going into the city the next month.

"Really? You love that show," Julia said.

"We do so it'll be nice to meet Colbert," Castle said with a nod.

"But we'll only be gone for a day… barely even that," Beckett added.

"That's kay," Eliza said quickly. "You're gonna be on TV!" She smiled when the others laughed and then said, "Can we see too?"

"Your daddy will record it and we'll let you watch it," Beckett said.

"And you weren't going to do that?" Castle asked, shuffling the cards again as they'd finished the first game, Mari winning. When Beckett just looked at him he laughed and said, "Okay so maybe I will."

"Hurry and deal," Beckett said to him teasingly.

"Sure," Castle said absently as he began to deal quickly. Once he was finished and they began to play he said, "Think your parents would do that for us?"

Mari looked up from her paper and said, "Yeah but does that mean Julia and Eliza can spend the night?"

When Castle looked to her then Beckett said, "We might want to ask Veronica, that way you two can sleep here that night."

"Daddy might stay until you come back," Mari told them.

"We'll ask," Castle assured her. "For now let's play so we can finish this game before he gets here."

With that the girls laughed softly and they turned their attention to the game so they could do as he'd said, wanting to see who would win that time.

"Can't we play one more time?" Eliza asked when Beckett guessed and managed to win.

"I'm afraid not," she told her with a slight smile while she watched Julia and Mari help Castle put the game away. "Mari has to head home, I'm sure Dani wants to see her and her parents too."

"Speaking of parents," Castle said as the chime for the gate rang then. "Why did he come in the car?"

"Probably snowing again," Beckett said as they got up. When she glanced outside the window next to the door she smiled and said, "Definitely snowing."

"Does that mean we have to go to school tomorrow in the car?" Julia asked as her mother pressed the button to open the gate and her father was helping Mari put her gifts into her backpack.

"I think so," Beckett said. "It'll be cold again too."

"Hey," David said as he reached the porch. "Have a nice time Mari?"

"Yeah does Mommy say I have to come home?" the little girl asked.

"You know already," David said, smiling at her. "Thanks so much for letting her come over."

"And for dinner and the gifts too," Mari said with a smile as Eliza hugged her.

"You're welcome," Julia said, smiling back at her friend as she had been talking to her. She hugged Mari tightly and said, "We'll see you at the school again tomorrow."

"Yeah, wait," the little girl said after they'd parted. "Tell him what you were going to ask."

Beckett smiled and she and Castle then explained about their need to go into the city in three weeks. "So we'd like them to stay here but if you can't do that-" she started to say.

"Why don't we just let them spend the night?" Castle suggested. When the girls gasped he told his wife, "They want to."

"It wouldn't be too much for you and Rebecca?" Beckett asked.

"Oh no," David replied shaking his head. "We've had them over before; just make sure they have their things."

"We'll owe you," Castle said with a nod.

"He's right, we will," Beckett told them.

"We know," David said, watching then as Mari said goodbye to Castle and Beckett. He said the same to them before they headed out to the car, calling a goodnight to the whole family as well.

Once the gate was closed behind them Castle closed and locked the door before saying to his wife, "What now?"

Looking at her watch Beckett smiled and said, "I think we've got time for one last game."

"A fast one?" Eliza asked. When her parents nodded she squealed in pleasure and then went to her father, taking his hand to drag him to the family room. "I know which one," she said happily before she let him go to grab the game.

"Why am I not surprised it's this one?" Castle said jokingly to his wife when he saw it was their youngest's fishing game.

"She knows that's the best one to play when we have to play really fast," Julia said as they sat down.

"Luckily there are enough fishing poles for all of us," Castle commented with a smile as he watched Eliza pass them out.

"How many can we play?" the toddler was then asking her parents.

"We'll see," Beckett said simply, not sure yet how many she wanted to allow as she checked the time again.

"Ready?" Castle then asked, about to turn the game on. When the girls both nodded he did so and they began to play, trying to catch the moving fish. As soon as it had stopped and Eliza had counted the fish they'd all caught; Beckett winning; he said to his wife, " _We forgot to tell them_."

"What?" Julia asked, wondering what her father had said to make her mother laugh as she did.

"We have another surprise, it goes with Memorial Day weekend," Beckett said. "Luckily that worked out for us."

"What's the surprise?" Eliza asked slightly impatiently.

"We're going to Las Vegas," Castle said as Beckett nodded for him to tell them.

"Why?" Julia asked.

"There's a show we thought you'd want to see sweetie," Beckett replied with a smile.

Reminded instantly of what that show was Julia gasped and asked, "We get to see _Love_?"

"And some of Las Vegas too besides that," Beckett said.

"I'll start looking into it," Castle said with a nod.

"Are we going on our own?" Julia asked.

"With your grandparents," Castle said. "That reminds me, plane tickets."

"We should just plan what we can tomorrow," Beckett said with a smile as they were waiting for the girls to put the fish back in their places.

"Right," Castle said. "And also we should text them where we're going."

"We'll call," Beckett replied. "But tomorrow since we have time for one last game."

"I hope I get more fishies!" Eliza said.

"Mommy, Daddy?" Julia asked the two before Castle could start the game. When they looked to her she said, "Thanks for the show, I can't wait."

"Neither can we," Castle said. "We'll spend the night with you, having dinner and then the show."

"Sorry," Julia said, then looking to her sister.

"That's kay, I get to go with Gram and Grandpapa for that," Eliza said as she knew she would have had to be five to see the show.

"I should mention now the villa we're staying in has a small pool," Castle said. He laughed when the girls looked ecstatic and glancing to Beckett said, "For now let's get the fish going and get ready for tomorrow." With that he turned on the game and they began to play for one last time before both girls would need to try to sleep though they were obviously excited already for their future trip.

* * *

Looking to her left after she had placed her phone on her nightstand Beckett smiled as her husband walked around the back of the bed to his side and said, "I was just looking at some places to go but should we wait until we at least go to Japan to start looking into that?"

"No it never hurts to be prepared," Castle said as he climbed onto the bed, pulling the covers over his legs.

"When are we going exactly," Beckett said, watching him grab his tablet from his nightstand.  
"I thought of that too, hold on," Castle told her before he then opened the calendar there. "Okay, so Memorial Day is on the twenty-seventh and I got tickets for us on Saturday to the show so we should leave Friday early in the morning and we'll come back Monday afternoon… the flight is five hours going and about twelve minutes less than that the other way."

"We'll figure out the flight time tomorrow," Beckett said. "So we'll have three days to go places during the day."

"Yeah, well, there are a few museums I already thought of," Castle said. "First off is the Natural History Museum, they'll love that."

"Of course," Beckett said with a smile.

"Another is the Clark County Museum, not in Vegas but nearby," Castle said, showing the site to her.

"It looks like they'll enjoy that one too," Beckett said with a nod after looking at what there was for a bit. "Anything else for that third day?"

"Mandalay Bay has an aquarium and the Mirage has a dolphin and wild cat habitat," Castle replied.

"Okay then I think we have things set," Beckett said. She smiled and said, "What about walking around the Strip?"

"Oh that reminds me, there is the Bellagio," Castle said. "They have a conservatory that's decorated for holidays; I have no idea what it is for then though."

"But it is flowers right?" Beckett asked him. When he nodded she smiled and said, "Then they'll like it."

"Are you eager," Castle said.

"I am but I'm thinking of the time until we get to that point first," Beckett said with a smile. She studied him and said, "What is it?"

"Nothing," Castle said quickly, looking down at the screen of his tablet. He was slightly startled when she cupped his cheek and then pulled him over to her so she could kiss him. He was distracted then, turning his attention to her so they could do that twice more. They were very gentle and tender and he groaned when they pulled apart telling her, "You're so evil."

"I know how to make you talk," Beckett said teasingly. "So talk what is it?"

"Don't hit me but I'm thinking about our night alone with Julia," Castle told her honestly.

"What're you thinking?" Beckett asked him with a smile as she wrapped both her arms around him tightly.

"What I was saying before," Castle said, setting his tablet down and holding her to him.

"You have an idea," Beckett said teasingly.

"Okay, so dinner we need to go somewhere family friendly obviously," Castle told her. "I've been to the Mirage and there is a restaurant I think she'll like, plus it's near the theater the show's in. It's called _BLT_ and I think it would be great to try… if we check it first. And something else came to me, what about dessert?"

"You have something special in mind," Beckett asked with a smile.

"There's a _Serendipity_ nearby right on the Strip," Castle explained.

"We'll have to see about that," Beckett said. She then reached for his tablet and said, "We'll also have to leave some time open for swimming."

"That's a good point," Castle said a little absently as he was watching her. "But in the end I do really want to see the show."

"So do I," Beckett said before she smiled and said, "Imagine how excited she's going to be."

"Not just that," Castle said. "The gift shop."

"I remember," Beckett said with a smile. "I have to wonder how she'll be in there in the end."

"Me too," Castle said.

"You need to take it easy," Beckett said then as she sat up slightly.

"I will," Castle replied. He then said, "Are we set?"

"With what we can do for now," Beckett replied, nodding her head once.

"Good," Castle said, setting the tablet back after he'd turned it off. When he turned to Beckett he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close though he didn't kiss her. "I'm going to be sappy right now," he told her seriously.

"Nothing wrong with that from time to time," Beckett said with a smile.

"But do you get the feeling that things feel right?" Castle asked. "Like now we're here-"

"It's home?" Beckett suggested.

"Yeah," Castle said, glad that she'd been able to tell what he'd meant.

"It's not sappy, it's what I thought too," Beckett replied, cuddling close to his side at that moment. "Last night after we fell asleep, finally back in our bed together and finally able to make love together too."

"So you enjoyed that," Castle said to slightly tease her.

Playfully nudging his side with her elbow Beckett then said, "Yes and so did you."

"Yeah…" Castle said, turning his head to press his lips to her forehead. "I feel like I want to keep taking you. It's like my arousal doesn't stop it just gets stronger and harder to ignore."

"It must be because we're back here," Beckett told him with a smile. But it was brief and she then said, "But I agree, I feel the same."

Castle was going to ask what she wanted to do about that when she beat him to the punch though she was replying to the question that he hadn't asked by taking his hand to slip it underneath her shirt. "Love," he breathed in pleasure.

"Wait, let me…" Beckett said, the sudden warmth of his hand making her let go of him to sit up. She pulled her NYPD shirt off her head and put it on the table behind the bed before she turned back to him, seeing he was pulling off his black shirt to set it with hers. As soon as he turned to her she was in his arms, holding onto him as their lips met hungrily, both of them initiating the kiss. She could feel her husband's hands all over her back, making her moan in joy before they parted to breathe and he was kissing all around her neck, making her whimper slightly.

"What's wrong Kate?" Castle asked, jumping on what that whimper could mean for them.

"Hmm," Beckett said, taking a moment to answer that as she realized what noise she'd made. "I don't know," she said honestly.

"Maybe I can help you," Castle told her. He laid back with her then and reached up with his right hand, lightly cupping her breast before he laid her onto her back. He went straight to her right breast and there began to lightly lap at her nipple while she softly cried out. It was then he realized that their bedroom door wasn't locked so he somehow managed to force himself off the bed to do that.

"You're lucky you closed the door when we came in here," Beckett said, on her knees to watch him.

"I know," Castle said. When he reached her he helped her off the bed before pulling her pants and panties off her hips. "I love you," he told her seriously before they kissed hard once. "I adore you Kate," he then said, watching her take off her clothes until she was exposed to him.

"I adore you too," Beckett said, smiling. She waited for him to take off the last of his pajamas before she told him as they fell back on the bed together, "And I love you Rick," breathing hard as they coupled together easily.

"Always?" Castle asked her, waiting for her to wrap her legs around his waist.

"Always," Beckett told him seriously before they fell into a deep, hungry kiss.

Castle couldn't wait anymore and he proceeded to thrust inside of his wife's body eagerly, feeling her taking him in the same manner. He had no idea how long they would be doing that that night but he knew however long it took to satisfy them both they would take every second they had as they explored their passion more intensely as the seconds went by; thinking again as he knew she was that they were finally home in all sense of the word.


	34. Epilogue- In My Heart Forever And Ever

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: As the title says of the chapter this is the epilogue so that means we've come to the end of the story. But I definitely have the next one ready to go so if anyone wants to read that when then pleased check back in a few days for it!

A/N #2: I was happy getting the feedback that I did for the last chapter so very quickly I'll get to my thank yous for that! TORONTOSUN (Great you enjoyed Eliza becoming her own person; I try to remember to do that so glad I could do so noticeably in this chapter! And I was pleased to see you liked how they warmed up after their cold day!) and vetgirlmx (Happy to see you thought it was a very good chapter of course. And I wasn't surprised you saw the girls were a little reluctant to get back to their routine after their trip, I was the same when I was that age too, lol so I wrote that in. Great to see you enjoyed Eliza going shopping at the market! Lol, as I'd written that scene I wasn't sure how exactly that would be taken by readers though I loved writing it, lol. And I'm glad that you think she's a cute girl, I do try to write her like that. I'm not surprised you mentioned them talking about trips again but I put that in mainly because they have another coming up. That and I wanted to include Vegas as well and that needed to be done ahead of time so this place just fit lol. But I'm so happy you find them interesting and fun and that makes you want to see them 'cause I try to do that as well! You're right, I had a feeling Castle wouldn't be looking forward to that and that's why I did my best to write him as startled at the beginning. And then I had him taking it a bit well; as you mentioned; because I was trying to show that Beckett would calm him down about that since of course as she said before she was a teenage girl so she would be the best to help him with handling that. But so great you're eager to read what'll happen next and now you can do so!). Thanks so much for the reviews, I loved reading them both and also appreciated the time taken to write them out and send them to me! And I also wanted to add a very sincere thank you to all of you who read, reviewed, favorited and followed this story and another thank you to those who might do all that in the future; I'm definitely grateful for it since it gives me impetus to keep posting for you all!

A/N #3: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _India_ by Paul McCartney, from a performance on the Secret Website show from his DVD _Back in the US_.

In My Heart Forever And Ever

Feeling the wind pushing back her hair behind her as they began to ride at full gallop Beckett looked over at her husband with a smile before turning her attention to the path ahead of them. It was the morning of the twenty-third, the day she and Castle were going into the city for the mayor's ball, and they were riding their horses as the weather had turned enough for them to do so. It was a clear day with sunny skies and she could feel the warmth of the sun comfortably on her shoulders as they headed back to the stables.

Since they were galloping Castle wasn't surprised when they soon saw the buildings in the distance or when he saw the girls at a corral where they knew Charlie was working with a three year old colt, Lupita there with them as she was watching the two for them. "Think they rode at all?" he asked her as they began to slow down at that point.

"Probably," Beckett said with a smile. "But for how long I don't know."

They rode up to their daughters then and Castle said, "Having fun?"

"Hi, how was your ride?" Julia asked, turning to them first with a wide smile.

"Do you see the horsie?" Eliza then said, pointing to it.

"Yeah we saw it," Beckett replied. She saw then that Charlie was nearing them and called, "How is he doing?"

"Nicely," the owner said with a nod to them. "Want to try?"

"Do you trust me enough?" Beckett asked instead of answering. She wasn't surprised when he just stared at her in response and she glanced to Castle. At his quick nod she dismounted Alex and handed the reins to her husband before she kissed the girls' cheeks in passing to step into the corral.

"If this works I might train you to learn how to train them," Charlie said, smiling at her.

"Let's not go too far yet," Beckett said, holding out the palm of her hand and standing still. She smiled when the colt sniffed once, its breath coming out in a whoosh against her skin, before she gently rubbed its forehead before going to its ears.

Castle wasn't surprised when the colt went with his wife easily after she had the cord that was around its neck and he said in a low tone of voice, "I wonder why he doesn't just let her do this already."

Julia; hearing that; glanced back at her father and saw the pride in his eyes as he stared at Beckett and she smiled in delight to see that before looking back to her mother. "So when can you ride these young horses?" she asked, keeping her voice low and calm as her mother had taught her to do.

"When they have enough training to stop shying away from you," Charlie replied. "And they won't try to buck off the saddle when you put it on them."

"I won't be riding these," Beckett said, hearing a slight noise from the direction of her daughters. "I don't want to take the risk."

"I do," Charlie said then. "Since I know these horses."

"Here," Beckett said, handing him the cord. She waited for him to continue on and then stepped out before going to Eliza in Lupita's arms. "We're going to get Alex and Julius ready and then we'll go okay?"

"Yeah, what do we do now?" Eliza asked interestedly.

"Kate," Castle said before she could reply. "Why don't we take them with us?"

"Please?" Eliza asked.

"Could we?" Julia said, smiling as she knew already what the answer would be.

"Lupita?" Beckett asked.

"Yes?" the woman said, wondering what she was going to ask.

"Thank you so much for watching them," Beckett said. "And believe me when we say we mean that."

"She's right, we do," Castle told her.

Smiling Lupita said, "I am glad to help. Have a nice trip."

After they'd said goodbye to the vet Beckett took Eliza over to Castle and handed her up to him saying, "We're walking."

"Understood," Castle said with a smile, knowing that she was half teasing and half serious. He looked down at Eliza and told her, "Sorry sweetheart, you heard your mom."

"Just a little bit…" the toddler started to say.

"There isn't much space to gallop sweetie," Beckett said, taking Alex's reins back and walking with Julia. "So we'll walk."

"You don't want to ride the rest of the way?" Julia said. She was trying to be serious but she couldn't help smiling widely at her mother after she had spoken. "So are we still going to meet tomorrow?" she asked as Castle and Eliza got off Julius inside the stable.

"It's supposed to snow," Castle said. "So we might just meet you at home."

"I wanna see the ponies again," Eliza protested but not all that vehemently.

"We can try another time, tomorrow I'm sure they're going to want to stay inside their stalls where they can be warm," Beckett said as she led Alex into his stall. At that point she began to brush the horse down, talking to Julia and also Castle and Eliza in Julius' stall next to them.

"We're not really going to have much time to do anything," Castle was saying to the toddler who'd asked what they were going to see while they were in the city. "By the time we get there we'll just… love?"

Beckett smiled, nearly finished brushing down Alex, and said, "Probably just grab something for a snack unless we take something from the house. Go to the loft and… rest likely before we have to get ready." She then looked at Julia next to her as she'd allowed her oldest to brush Alex too and said, "You two are okay right? We're leaving again when we just got back."

"We want you to go to the ball Mommy," Julia said.

"Yeah so you can dress up with Daddy," Eliza called.

"We will," Castle assured them. "And we'll try and leave as soon as we get up tomorrow morning."

"But it may be late," Beckett warned them. "Since we're staying late."

"To kiss?" Eliza asked.

Though her cheeks were heating up Beckett couldn't help smile at the sound of a brush falling to the floor in the next stall. "The ball Eliza, we'll likely stay late for that."  
"At least you'll dance," Julia said, handing her mother her brush she'd used.

"Now," Beckett said as she turned to get Alex's blanket and saw Julia had beat her to it. "Thank you, now I want to hear what you two will do with your daddy," she said, directing the rest of that to Eliza as well.

"First we need to have lunch," Castle said. "And then we'll go somewhere."

"Somewhere as in the ceramic studio?" Beckett asked in amusement as she led Julia out of the stall before she then made sure that Alex was fed.

"We didn't go there for a long time Mommy," Eliza said solemnly as she and Castle were outside of Julius' stall.

"That's true," Beckett said with a smile for her. "So don't worry, I wasn't going to tell you not to go. Just make sure if you make something, make it for yourselves."

"What, me too?" Castle asked.

"Why not?" Beckett asked in amusement. "Make whatever you'd like. And have fun."

"We will," Eliza said before they went to wash their hands. After they'd done so she let her mother pick her up and as they walked out to the car said, "What about Gram?"

"We'll pick her up," Castle said. "After we go to the ceramic studio."

"Why did Gram take the train this time?" Julia said as they neared their car.

"She didn't want to have to worry about the weather," Castle replied.

"I don't blame her for that," Beckett said. "But you know we'll be careful."

"We know, you drive a lot in the snow," Julia answered before she got into the backseat with her sister.

Driving them back home Castle helped his wife get their daughters out before they went inside to the dogs who ran out from the family room to greet them. "How much time do you have left?" he asked Beckett.

Checking the time Beckett said, "Not much, let me grab my things upstairs and meet me in the kitchen."

"Why Mommy?" Eliza asked. Her mother didn't answer, as she'd already headed up the stairs and was out of earshot, so she turned to her father.

"I'm not sure," Castle said, trying not to laugh at how pointedly the toddler was looking at him. "Why don't we go like she asked us?" he then told the two.

"Sure," Julia said, leading the way with the dogs as she then heard Eliza running after them.

Once she had the few things she'd need for her trip to the spa Beckett headed back to the kitchen seeing that the three were waiting there, Eliza skipping as Rita bounded after her. "Looks like you're having fun already," she said with a smile.

"Why did we come here Mommy?" Eliza asked her, running to her as soon as she'd seen her.

"I need to get my water before I go," Beckett said. "And I want to spend as much time with you two as possible."

"I'm spending time with her later," Castle said, smiling when he saw that Eliza looked a little troubled by that comment. "I can't blame her, I'd do the same. Oh wait, I am already."

"Come on, walk with me to the front so I can say goodbye to you," Beckett told them as she put a bottle of water in her bag she had with her. She took the girls' hands and led them over to the foyer before she let them go and picked up Eliza. "Listen to him and don't drive him too crazy okay?" she told both girls a little teasingly as she kissed her youngest's cheek.

"We won't, we don't want him to be crazy or tired for your ball tonight," Julia said, waiting her turn. As soon as Eliza was back on the ground she went to her mother and hugged her tightly before she kissed her cheek and Beckett kissed hers.

"Thank you for that," Beckett told her as Eliza was saying that her sister was right. "So you'll be okay," she told her husband as she stood up straight and looked at him.

"I should be," Castle said, nodding his head trying to be serious. He smiled when she rolled her eyes and then reached for her, wrapping his arms around her tightly before they kissed. "We'll be fine, have fun with Rebecca and Lily and don't forget the roses," he then told her when they parted shortly after.

"I didn't," Beckett replied with a smile. She was about to step away when her husband suddenly grabbed her a little tighter and began to kiss at her neck. "Rick," she said, laughter in her voice as he then proceeded to her jaw. "I have to go."

After a final kiss on the lips where he lingered for far longer than the previous one, Castle finally let her go and said, "I couldn't resist."

"I could tell," Beckett said, looking then to their daughters. She saw the two were watching them but seemed very unfazed by their exchange. "Alright see you after and tell your mother thank you again," she said as the chime for the gate rang.

Waving goodbye to her with the girls Castle waited until she'd left through the door in the wall next to the gate and turned to the two. "So should we party or go have lunch?" he asked them teasingly after he had clapped his hands together.

"Lunch!" Eliza protested, frowning at him.

Castle couldn't help laugh and then reached down for the toddler, throwing her up above him briefly before telling her, "Alright but we need to go now; are either of you ready?"

"You help us Daddy," Julia said, smiling as Eliza again looked irritated.

"I'm teasing you sweetheart," Castle said, kissing her temple. "We're heading out right now."

"Thank you Daddy," Eliza said in response to that before he set her down.

Bundling up the girls Castle went into the garage with them, allowing them to give Macca and Rita a treat before they headed downtown the two talking eagerly about what they'd make at the studio as he listened in with a slight smile on his face.

* * *

"How about this?" Julia was saying to her father.

"That's a great line," Castle said. "How did you get it so straight?"

"I used this paper," Julia explained.

"Nice," Castle told her, nodding his head. "I'm proud of you."

Giggling softly Julia said, "Thanks, how is it going Daddy?"

"I don't know, I think I'm making it passably well," Castle replied as he looked at the mosaic piece he was painting. He and the girls were at the studio and painting what they'd picked out to do. Julia and Eliza had decided her mother needed plates from them and they were painting abstract shapes on them that he'd drawn for them at their direction. He had picked out the piece he was working on as Eliza had asked him to paint it for her; remembering the pieces they'd seen in Barcelona by Gaudi. "What do you think?" he then directed to the toddler who was painting a triangle.

"I like it," Eliza said, looking up at his work. She then glanced at her sister's and then her own saying, "I can't make it straight Daddy."

"You mean stay in the lines," Julia suddenly said.

Looking across the table at her Castle said, "She's right but you know what?" When both girls asked him what he smiled and told them, "She'll want you to paint the best you can."

"But it is still messy," Eliza protested.

"And she'll want that," Castle said reassuringly.

"'Cause then she'll recognize it's from you," Julia guessed. When her father nodded she said, "She'll still like it Lizzy, I bet she'll love it."

"Listen to your sister," Castle said with a smile as Eliza glanced at him.

"Kay," the toddler replied before she then picked up another brush to get another color.

"Are you excited Daddy?" Julia asked after they'd painted in silence for a bit.

"I am," Castle said. "Like I've told you two before whenever I'm going somewhere with your mom then I'm excited."

"Are you gonna dance with Rebecca and Lily?" Eliza then said.

"Oh of course," Castle said. "But don't worry," he said, looking directly at her as he knew Julia was aware already. "I don't dance with them like I do your mother."

"Good," Eliza said. "Look Daddy," she then told him, showing the plate to him.

"Fantastic," Castle said, giving her a thumbs up to her giggle. When they went back to their painting he then told the two, "I hope you'll have fun with your gram tonight."

"Oh! Is she here?" Julia exclaimed, having forgotten they were going to pick her up she'd been concentrating on her painting so much.

"We have about a half hour so don't worry we'll finish in time," Castle assured them as Eliza looked concerned as well.

Julia and Eliza began to concentrate on their plates until they had finished and as they were waiting for their items to be baked in the kiln they took their father to the play area.

"You don't want to do anything?" Castle asked the two when they didn't go to any of the toys or books that were available.

"We're gonna play with Gram," Julia said, leaning against him while Eliza sat on his lap.

"Can we play a game?" Eliza then asked.

Castle was slightly confused but then quickly realized what she'd meant. He reached into his pocket and said looking at his phone, "Your mom just texted me… looks like she's finished and having lunch now."

"It's late," Eliza said.

"Not too much," Castle replied. "Now she'll be really relaxed when she comes home." He opened a game and then handed the phone to the toddler before saying to Julia, "Anything you want to do?"

"That's okay," Julia said. She then smiled and said, "I'm glad you got to ride."

"I was too," Castle said, nodding to her. "It's been a while since we got to go together."

"Yep she went when you were gone," Julia told him.

"She told me," Castle said, nodding his head. "And I'm glad she did that way Julius didn't get out of shape."

Julia laughed and then said, "That wasn't gonna happen."

"Okay maybe not but I think he appreciated it," Castle said. "Since she took Alex."

"So he wouldn't be jealous?" Julia asked with a soft giggle. When he nodded she wrapped her arms around him and said, "Everybody missed you."

"They did but I'm home now," Castle said before he heard his name was being called. "There's our stuff," he told the two. He took back his phone and set Eliza down telling her, "We need to get going and get your gram before it gets too late." At that he had the toddler calmed down and they walked together to grab their items before they headed out to the train station.

* * *

"It was a nightmare," Lily was saying to Beckett and Rebecca. "Why the hell I thought inviting her to cook with me would work… who knows."

"So was she your sous chef?" Rebecca asked.

Before she could answer their waitress came over to the three to give them their food and as soon as they were alone again Lily said, "No, if she was my sous I'd eat my hat."

"But you don't wear one," Beckett said.

"Exactly," Lily replied.

Rolling her eyes though she was smiling Beckett said, "Are you both ready to go?"

"Oh yeah as soon as I get home we'll say goodnight to the girls, say goodbye to my parents and head off to the city," Rebecca was first to answer. "You?"

"I am, Brad's probably pacing around the house waiting for me," Lily answered. She then smiled and said, "We haven't had a night like this is in a while."

"What?" Beckett asked when both her friends looked at her briefly.

"You managed to have some time with Rick," Rebecca pointed out.

"But we're of course forgetting how long before that they were apart," Lily said.

"Ah, we can't forget about that," Rebecca said, taking a sip of her wine.

"Am I intruding on your conversation?" Beckett said jokingly, looking around her. "Should I go?"

"But you're ready," Lily said.

"I am," Beckett said. "When are you guys coming back?"

"Whenever," Rebecca said with a shrug.

"I'm sure as soon as we check out," Lily said. She was bringing her glass of wine up to her lips and muttered; though loud enough for the two to hear, "Since we won't have a bed anymore by then."

Laughing with Beckett, Rebecca said, "I get the feeling we're all going to be doing that."

"Not you two," Lily said. "Since you're going to your city home."

"We're lucky or else we'd be doing the same as you," Beckett said quickly, slightly in self defense though she knew her friends were teasing her.

"I wonder," Lily said as she stabbed some of her salad onto her fork. "Why we're so guarded."

"What made you think of that?" Rebecca said.

"Just the fact that we were talking about you in DC," Lily replied, nodding to Beckett. "That reminded me of your friend and what you said about being a little more open with him."

"That was when we didn't have any significant others," Beckett protested. "And we never went so far into detail that it was vulgar."

"And who said we'd want to do that now?" Lily replied. "I'll start; Brad's not slowing down in the slightest."

"Neither is David," Rebecca said. "See, nothing wrong with that."

"Alright," Beckett sighed. "Rick isn't either."

"Surprising David isn't," Lily commented. "You two are the oldest out of all of us… barely a year."

"Actually Rick is," Beckett pointed out to them.

"Yes and… wait he's not slowing down?" Lily then asked.

"Not really," Beckett said in slight embarrassment. She wasn't surprised when her two friends just looked at her, figuring out there was more to that and she said, "Since we got back we've been a little more involved than even we usually are."

"Really," Lily said. "How much more?"

Looking up above her Beckett hesitated for a moment before she then said, "We haven't worked on our book at all."

"Then you aren't slowing down either," Rebecca said. "And I should point out that David and I do that sometimes too… if Dani will sleep of course."

"You're both lucky," Lily said. "I can't do that with Brad."

"Should we stop?" Rebecca asked.

"Oh, you know what my friend made me tell her?" Lily told them. "Brad's size."

Relieved that there was no one around them close enough to hear Beckett said, "And you told her?"

"I popped off a number that didn't sound sad or huge and she left me alone after that," Lily said with a slight nod of her head.

"And what, you want us to do that now?" Rebecca asked.

Beckett wanted to protest too but she was wondering what their friend was doing as Lily pulled out a piece of paper and a pen from her purse. "What if someone sees that?" she asked, trying to find a way to dissuade her.

"We'll read the numbers," Lily replied. "And then tear them up into small pieces."

Rebecca shared a look with Beckett but they took the papers and took turns writing down before she said, "Women do this…?"

"According to my friend," Lily said. "There." She then watched as Rebecca and then Beckett set down their papers and nodded saying, "I thought we were going to have something big."

"Why are you looking at me?" Beckett asked.

"I'd thought that too," Rebecca said as Lily started to quickly tear up the papers as they watch. "He just seems to be more confident."

"If he was to that degree I'd never be able to walk normally again," Beckett told them, smiling at them though she was still embarrassed. "Though really you two are lucky as well."

"Do you think they do any jock talk when they go out for drinks?" Rebecca told the other two.

"If they do it's not that much," Lily answered. She smiled and said, "Good enough?" showing the two the pieces of paper.

"Great, let's never speak of this again," Rebecca said.

"One question related to that," Lily said. "Have your husbands ever had trouble? Too quickly?" She wasn't surprised when the two shook their heads at the same time and she told them, "Great, neither has mine."

"Alright, can go now?" Rebecca said.

"We should go," Beckett said. "More than enough time and I wanted to spend a little of it with the girls." She stood up from the table as they paid and left, going out to Rebecca's car so they could head back to their homes, laughing with them as Lily was telling them another story about her friend's visit the day before.

* * *

Walking up to the house after waving goodbye to Rebecca, Beckett entered the foyer to find the girls running across the hall down near the kitchen from the family room to hers and Castle's office. Her husband was right behind them and she called out, "They haven't worn you out already love?"

Stopping abruptly Castle turned around to her and smiled before calling to the girls, "The game's over."

"Why?" Julia asked in protest as she and her sister came out from behind the couch where they'd hidden. When she and Eliza stepped out into the hall she cried out at the same time as her, "Mommy!"

"Hey you two," Beckett said, hugging them tightly.

"You smell like roses Mommy," Eliza said first, pressing her cheek against her and trying to snuggle closer to her.

"Thank you, they did a great job at the spa with that," Beckett said. She kissed them both quickly before she then turned her attention to her husband. "Are you going to do what you did earlier?" she asked him teasingly.

"I'm tempted but-" Castle started to say before his wife was throwing her arms around him tightly. He was cut off when she kissed him and he responded, trying to ignore the delicate scent of roses that surrounded them while they were doing that. Luckily it didn't become an issue as she soon pulled away from him and he smiled saying, "Can I just say I'm so glad you're back home?"

"You can," Beckett said, a returning smile on her face. She gave him a peck on the lips and then turned with him to their daughters. "Is your gram here?" she asked as she recalled that she was supposed to be there by then.

"I'm right here Kate," Martha said as she came down the stairs. She smiled as Beckett came over to meet her and while they hugged said, "I see that you enjoyed your time with Rebecca and Lily, how are they?"

"They're doing well and looking forward to tonight," Beckett said, trying not to show her embarrassment as she recalled her conversation with the two women.

"Speaking of that are you ready?" Martha then asked as they let go of each other.

"We just need to bring down our suitcase and our clothes for tonight," Beckett replied. "Since we have some time why don't we go outside?" she then said to the girls.

"Really?" Julia asked though her mother was leading them back to the foyer.

"She is, she didn't take off her coat or anything," Castle said teasingly. He wasn't surprised when the girls laughed slightly and he helped his wife get them bundled back up again before they headed to the door out to the backyard.

"Oh Mommy," Eliza said in dismay when they'd stepped outside. "We got you something."

"When we go back inside," Beckett reassured them. "For now let's make a snowman."

"I'll help!" Julia said, reaching down to the snow once they were on the yard.

With that Castle had to go after Eliza since she had started to run down to the beach. "Hold on Eliza!" he called to her as he finally reached her before she got to the water.

"I'm getting the decorations," Eliza told him, pronouncing the last word very carefully.

"Oh, well you should tell us that," Castle said. "For now let's get it ready so you can spend time with your mom too."

Nodding Eliza began to pick up the shells that were washing up on the sand and smiled at her father as he helped her get the right ones before they went back to Beckett and Julia.

"I see you two had some fun getting the shells," Beckett said as Eliza hugged her tightly.

"We got those," the toddler explained, pointing to the shells that Castle set on the snow.

"We'll help now with the body," Castle said, seeing that the two had gotten the bottom of the body set while he and Eliza had been gone.

"I was asking Mommy about how it was at the spa," Julia said as she and her mother then started the middle while Castle and Eliza worked together on the head.

"I waited so you could hear," Beckett said. "It was very relaxing and I enjoyed it. Thank you Rick."

With a nod Castle said, "Glad to hear since that was the point. That was why all of us got that for our wives."

"And then you had lunch," Eliza said.

"That was nice too," Beckett said, hoping the cold would hide the slight flush of her cheeks at the remembrance of that lunch again. She noticed that her husband had paused, looking at her, and she shook her head before she turned her attention to Julia who was asking if she wanted to hear about their time spent while she'd been gone. "Go ahead, now is the best time to tell me of course," she said with a smile.

While the girls told Beckett about that time Castle put the middle and head on top of the snowman and he then helped them with decorating it. Though it didn't have a hat he said, once they were finished and the girls had finished their story as well, "I think it looks nice."

"It does," Beckett agreed as Eliza looked at them.

"Yeah they're right," Julia agreed with them. "Do we have time to do anything else now?"

"Tag!" Eliza said eagerly.

"Well…" Beckett said as she looked at her watch. "I think we can play but just for a little."

"Setting my alarm now love," Castle said, doing that on his watch. He was a little startled when his wife leaned over and kissed him and said, "You're welcome."

"Come on," Beckett said slightly laughingly. "You're it first."

"Says who?" Castle asked in mock protest.

"Mommy does," Eliza told him matter of factly.

"Alright," Castle said though he was smiling at the girls. "Go on and I'll count to three." He waited for them and Beckett to walk away before he then counted before he took off towards his wife as he knew she was likely going to be the easiest one to catch since she'd make sure their daughters would have a chance.

"Really?" Beckett called as she ran to the steps they usually used as home. "You wanted to waste your energy on me?" she said to him teasingly.

"Not a waste," Castle said before he suddenly slipped and nearly fell. He recovered before he ran after her again but was unable to reach her in time. Turning from the steps he was abruptly struck and nearly fell back onto the snow again. "Okay, so looks like you two are it," he told the girls as he hugged them back.

"We want to go inside now," Julia said. She put her hand up to her mouth at the sight of her parents' surprise and then told them in explanation, "To give Mommy her things. And you have to show her what you made Daddy."

"That's true, love?" Castle asked his wife.

Beckett's reply to that was to take Eliza's hand and lead her back inside. Once they were back in the foyer they helped the girls with their things before setting their own outer layers on the bench for when they'd be leaving for the city. She let the girls take her to the family room and sitting on the couch she watched them bring over two objects that were wrapped in paper though she could tell what they were. When she revealed the plates she smiled at the two and cupped their cheeks before they shared a kiss and then told them seriously, "They're beautiful, I love them."

"Mine is messy," Eliza told her mother seriously, pointing to her plate. "But I made it."

"I know I can tell," Beckett said. "And I meant what I said when I told you that they're beautiful. I think these will go into the office on my side."

"Really?" Eliza asked. When her mother nodded she squealed happily and threw her arms around her mother's neck, hugging her tightly. "Thank you Mommy!"

"Thank you sweetie, for this," Beckett said. She then brought Julia to her and hugged her saying, "You did a great job with yours Julia, I love it."

"I'm glad you do," Julia said. She then looked over to the doorway and said, "Look Gram, what we made at the studio."

"Oh they were telling me all about this," Martha said to her daughter in law as she came to them to sit in an armchair. "And I wanted to see."

"Show her," Castle told them. "And I made this, Eliza said she wanted me to make this like Gaudi's tiles in Barcelona though of course I just used colors and not patterns," he told his wife as he was showing her the mosaic.

"It looks nice," Beckett said. "You chose nice colors; or was that Eliza?"

"No he picked Mommy," the toddler said, going over to her. "Can I put it on my desk?"

"Of course you can," Beckett replied with a quick nod. "Now though why don't you come with me so you can see where I'll put my plates."

Standing up Castle allowed his wife and their daughters to go ahead of him and then said to his mother, "We're likely going to leave after this."

"Don't worry I have tonight planned," Martha said. "A girls night in."

"You know she doesn't want you to paint their nails yet right?" Castle asked her.

"I'm aware, it's not going to be a complete girls night in," Martha said with a sigh as they walked together to the hallway. "More like the ones I had when I was Julia's age."

"They would like that," Castle said, nodding his head.

"Now do I have your permission to use the family room as our bedroom tonight?" Martha asked.

"Go ahead," Castle said as he knew that he could trust the girls to make sure everything was set back to normal the next day.

"Wonderful, don't let them know," Martha said quickly to her son as they came to the doorway of the office.

"What do you think Daddy, Gram?" Julia asked the two as she came over to them after her mother had set the plates in the place the three of them had agreed was the best.

"A very lovely accent," Martha said, nodding her head.

"Your gram is right, it's perfect there," Castle agreed.

"You have to go?" Eliza said then as her parents were abruptly looking at their watches at the same time without knowing it.

"We do, believe us we don't really want to," Castle told them.

"But we know you don't mind," Beckett said quickly as she could see that the girls were about to protest. "So let us go upstairs and get our suitcase and clothes."

Going to wait at the bottom of the stairs Julia said to her grandmother, "They're gonna have fun right? Not worry about us."

"Trust me," Martha said. "Once they realize they have the loft all to themselves and we'll be within easy reach by phone… or computer. Skype too I'm sure," she then listed, smiling as her granddaughters giggled softly. "They'll turn their attention to their night together."

"They will come back tomorrow," Eliza said then.

"We know," Castle said from the top of the stairs. "And we're still eager to go as we've kept telling you. Now come on because we need to say some goodnights." When they were in the foyer he sat down on the bench and took the girls into his arms tightly at the same time saying, "I love you two so much and we'll still miss you because we're your parents and like I said, we love you."

"Daddy you just said you," Eliza protested.

"I meant that too," Castle said, laughing for a moment as the two looked at each other, slightly perplexed. He wasn't surprised when they seemed to recover quickly after that and he hugged them both to him.

"I love you Daddy, have fun," Eliza said first.

"Yeah and dance as much as you can with Mommy," Julia then added.

"I was waiting for that," Castle said jokingly to his wife and mother who'd said goodbye to each other.

"So was I," Beckett said in agreement, smiling at them.

"And I love you too Daddy," Julia then told him seriously.

"Thank you sweetheart," Castle said before he shared kisses with them. At that point he gave them one final hug and moved to let his wife sit while he went to his mother to say goodbye to her.

"I love you Julia, Eliza," Beckett was telling the two. "And we'll come back as soon as we can tomorrow."

"Love you Mommy," Julia said first before sharing a kiss with her. "Have fun at the ball."

"I will," Beckett said, knowing the little girl liked saying that. She gently cupped her cheek before Eliza hugged her a little more tightly and she responded in turn.

"Love you Mommy," the toddler said. "Too. And have fun, lots and lots of fun."

"We probably will," Beckett said in amusement. She kissed the toddler before she stood and she and Castle gathered everything to take with them to the garage. Once there they loaded the car as Martha and their daughters were watching. "Listen to your gram and have fun with her," she told the two. "Martha, thank you again."

"I agree with her," Castle said before anyone could say anything to that. "Girls, fun. Mother, thanks."

"You're welcome, enjoy your night," Martha said with a smile as the girls were laughing.

"Night Mommy, Daddy," Eliza and then Julia called to them as they got into the car.

Waving goodbye to the three as Castle drove to the gate Beckett looked at her husband and said, "They should have fun."

"They will," Castle said firmly. Once the gate was closed behind them and they were driving down the street he then told her what his mother had planned for their daughters. They laughed together at how much the girls would enjoy their night and spoke about how they'd spend the next day when they were back with them as they continued on their way to the city.

* * *

"Watch out," Beckett said to her husband as she walked up to him.

"What?" Castle asked, looking at her.

Beckett didn't reply to that, instead she climbed up on the counter in between their sinks, sitting there as she took his razor from him. "You didn't think I'd do this?" she asked him.

"I thought you'd be getting ready yourself," Castle said honestly.

"I have enough time for that," Beckett said with a slight smirk. She reached up then and ran the razor carefully down his right cheek, not surprised when he was looking at her the entire time she did that. "Since you can't talk," she then said to him as she made another pass through the foam covering his skin. "I should tell you what I talked to Rebecca and Lily about at lunch."

"Salacious?" Castle asked since he had the chance to speak then.

Beckett smiled and then said, "In a way." She waited until she was clearing more foam before telling him, "We wrote down your sizes."

Grabbing his wife's arms when she had moved away to clean off his razor Castle said, "You did that."

"Yes believe me when I say I wasn't exactly eager to do that; neither was Rebecca," Beckett told him. "But we knew Lily was trustworthy; we all were."

"Does it feel weird though?" Castle asked.

Beckett thought about that for a moment before saying, "A bit but when I see David and Brad I'm not thinking about that. Especially since you won out there."

"You should have heard them joking with me about that," Castle said. When he saw his wife was looking at him questioningly he replied, "Yeah we told each other that." He then shrugged before he continued with, "We were talking about how we'd measured ourselves when we were… different ages but after puberty. It's a curiosity thing."

"I'll have to take your word for it," Beckett said with a slight smile. "I have nothing to measure." She caught her husband's eyes darting down to her breasts and she shook her head saying, "I know whenever I get a new bra, nothing to be curious about there."

"I am," Castle said since he had the chance to then, opening her robe she'd put on after her bath. He reached up and gently cupped her breasts, squeezing them for just a fraction of a second until he let go as she'd stopped shaving him for that. "Thank you," he told her seriously.

"I almost thought you were going to apologize," Beckett said in amusement.

As she was still shaving him Castle had to wait before he could reply to that but once he could he told her, "No reason to, I appreciate you allowing me that." He was startled when she merely smiled at him and he became a little frustrated when he couldn't say anything to that before she finished under his chin. "So you wanted that?" he asked when he could.

"I may have," Beckett teased him before she handed him the razor so he could shave above his upper lip. She looked on while he hurried to finish with some lotion on his clean skin, not letting her down, so she luckily was able to respond to him as soon as he was turning to her and kissed her as hard as he could. She moaned at the way he pressed against her, since he was naked from the waist up, and when he reached in between them she didn't try to stop him from opening her robe to expose her.

"Kate," Castle said a little huskily as he pulled back then to look at her. "I know we don't have time-" He was startled when his wife kissed him hard on the lips before he could finish and he knew he had her permission. "Tonight…" he began to say before trailing off on a quasi question.

"We'll do a lot better," Beckett replied before she breathed in deeply as his fingers reached for her clit. At the same time he was taking her right nipple between his lips and when he proceeded to suckle at her she was crying out as his fingers were gently rubbing at her. "Oh god… you have to let me do the same for… for you," she gasped as his fingers soon began to move faster.

Castle couldn't reply to that as he was intent on pleasuring his wife as quickly as he could. But before he could do that for much longer his wife was stopping him, making him stand up. He was going to ask what was wrong before she kissed him and they held onto one another as tightly as they could before he was first to pull away. "What-" he began.

"Take me to the bed," Beckett said. She thought he might protest but he was soon taking her into his arms and carrying her out to it as she had asked. Laying in the middle of the mattress she reached up to her husband as he leaned down to her and they began to hungrily kiss as he was reaching down to her sex. Their kisses at that point became a little interrupted as she was gasping in joy at the feel of him stimulating her. When he leaned down to kiss at her breasts something in her seemed to snap and she told him breathlessly, "Fuck me Rick, I can't… I can't wait for tonight."

"Thank you," Castle said almost desperately as he pulled away from her. "I can't either, you're too fucking tempting." He moved away so he could take off his pajama pants he'd worn and when his boxers had joined them he moved to his wife, entering her quickly and murmuring lovingly to her before he proceeded to do exactly as she'd asked, her body moving in time with him giving him more incentive to take her hard and roughly as they kissed and fondled each other impatiently.

When she had been driven to her orgasm Beckett held onto Castle as tightly as she could, crying out repeatedly a mixture of his name and begging him to continue to fuck her. But after he had joined her they were both calming down and she kissed him as soon as he'd turned his head towards her. When they had stopped she realized something and laughed softly telling him, "I'm still wearing my robe."

"It didn't rip did it?" Castle asked.

"No it's fine," Beckett replied. She kissed him again and sighed when he then withdrew from her. "I guess the bath was a little pointless."

"Should we regret having done that?" Castle asked her, reaching over to palm her right breast.

"No," Beckett said. She was tempted to just let him touch and kiss her as he pleased when he leaned over to do the latter while he was still doing the former but she couldn't forget they had to be somewhere that night. Pulling away from him she said softly, "We have tonight."

"I know I was remembering too," Castle said with a sigh. He reluctantly pulled away from her to get out of her way while she was getting up and said, "I need to get my phone."

"Stay there," Beckett said before she walked into the bathroom. After grabbing it she went back to where he was sitting on the edge of the bed and said, "Get dressed."

"I was planning on it," Castle replied as she turned and went right back to the bathroom. He couldn't help ogling her as her robe spread apart in the air, revealing the silhouette of her body in the light in front of her. When she disappeared, the door closing behind her, he shook himself of his thoughts though it was difficult as he could still feel her around him, her body writhing underneath him. He gave a quick shake of his head; reminding himself to think about that later when he had a better chance to do so; and turned his attention to dressing in his tuxedo.

Some time later Beckett left the bathroom ready to go and she smiled when she saw the bed had been straightened, though turned down fully. Her husband wasn't in the room still so she walked over to the office, stepping into the family room from there as he was standing next to the table at the windows. "Did I take too long?" she asked to get his attention.

Pausing to get his breath back as he looked at her in the dress she'd worn to the Eiffel Tower, hair draped over her left shoulder and the pearl set he'd given her, Castle was finally able to say, "No, _you look stunning_ Kate."

Smiling at his mix of Irish and English Beckett walked over to him and straightened the bow tie at his neck before she said, " _You look the same_ Rick." She was pleased when he wrapped his arms around her then and they began to kiss very gently and carefully before they were soon pulling back. "We need to go?" she asked since he'd ended the kiss.

"Yeah they'll be here in five minutes," Castle replied. "Are we staying the whole time?"

"We'll see," Beckett said as she went with him to the foyer. She put on her shawl that matched the color of the pearls and her heels while he threw on a coat and they walked hand in hand out to the elevator so they could meet the limo that would take the six of them to the ballroom.

"You two are all ready to go it looks like," Brad said as Castle and Beckett entered the back of the car.

"Did you think we were going to come in in our street clothes?" Castle asked after he and Beckett were settled and the limo was driving away from the curb.

"Just commenting," Brad said, fiddling with the cufflinks on his tuxedo.

"He's nervous," Lily explained, putting her hand on her husband's arm.

"Never really did something this big before," Brad said. "Way out of my comfort zone."

"It's alright," Castle said. "You'll be ignored."

"Nice," Beckett said, looking at her husband and slightly shaking her head.

"We don't mind if that happens," Lily said. "So that's the Paris dress," she said to her friend to change the subject.

"One of them," Beckett said, glancing at her husband as she knew he was going to say that.

"It's beautiful," Lily replied.

"The girls told me what color yours would be," Beckett said, smiling at her.

"Eve told them?" Lily asked.

When Beckett nodded Castle chuckled and said, "You knew from her what color Kate's dress would be."

"Yeah she told me," Lily replied. She looked out the window as the car was slowing down and then said quickly as they saw David and Rebecca, "She told me about her dress color too."

"I heard as well," Beckett said with a smile before the two were entering the back of the car. After they had greeted them she said, "I have to ask, are we dancing with only each other?"

"Did your girls ask you about that too?" Rebecca said with a slight laugh.

"I think we should say now," Castle said as he looked around at everyone. "That our kids all asked us to make sure we'd only dance with the other two couples."

"Since they started spending time with your kids," Brad said, speaking to the other two couples. "Eve and Jake are always asking us to make sure we're happy together, trying to tell us to go out when we can."

"It's sweet but at first it worried me since we've never shown signs of being in trouble," Lily replied.

"It's what they see with other kids at school," David said. "I know that a boy in Mari's class is from a divorced family."

"There are two kids, different families, in Julia's class," Beckett said.

"One in Eliza's class," Castle added.

"Some in our kids' classes too," Brad said.

"Then that's why obviously," Beckett said.

"I'm surprised Julia and Eliza are so worried about you two," Lily said.

"She's right you are fairly open," David said.

"Luckily not that open," Brad said.

Shaking her head as the others laughed Beckett squeezed Castle's hand and said, "You two are the same, just not quite to our level."

"That should reassure the kids," David said.

"We can only hope," Rebecca added as the car was slowing down then as they'd reached where the ball would be.


	35. In My Heart Forever And Ever (Part 2)

David stepped out of the limo first after he had glanced at Castle and Brad, helping his wife out before they waited for the other two couples.

Seeing the media on either side of the red carpet Beckett could see that that year they were warranted as there was a local actress and her heir husband ahead of them waving to the cameras. She looked to her husband and smiled slightly saying, "I'm preparing myself."

"At least you're using your natural smile," Castle told her, taking her hand and kissing the back of it. He then let her loop it through his arm and he held her close to him before they started to follow David and Rebecca with Brad and Lily behind them.

As the flashes of the cameras started to go off Beckett held onto her husband's arm a little tighter still smiling as she glanced to the sides briefly. She had to wonder what Lily and Brad were going through behind them but couldn't turn around to check on them until they were fully inside. "Okay?" she asked the two.

"Yeah luckily they seemed to be focused on you guys," Brad said, nodding his head.

"Told you they'd ignore you," Castle said, shaking his head. "They just want the more famous people."

"You're not used to that yet?" Brad asked.

"You figure you of all people would be," Rebecca then added.

"To a degree," Castle said. "I think we need to get our coats and stuff checked in," he then told them. "Too hard to explain that," he told his wife as they went over to the coat check.

Beckett squeezed his hand that she was holding and they gave their coat and shawl before they were entering the ballroom itself. She glanced around the room seeing a number of people already there before they were led over to their table so they would know where it was. She watched as Rebecca set down her clutch before looking around with her husband. "Do you see her?" she murmured to him.

"She's over there," Castle said, nodding to where the mayor was. "Is it wrong of me to not want her to make her way over here?" he asked her.

"I don't think so," David said, easily able to hear them since they were all standing together.

"Neither do I," Brad added. "Considering what she did to you. But she didn't really talk to you that much last year you said."

"That's true," Castle had to say with a nod. "You guys aren't going to mill around?" he asked the others. "Since we're going to be sitting on our own."

"I'm glad for that," Lily said. "I had this terrible thought we'd be with someone who was horrible."

"Or boring," Brad said with a nod. "There are two empty chairs too you know. But I should ask why are there celebrities; I thought you said there weren't going to be any?"

"I said not many and I was talking about last year," Castle said.

"It doesn't matter, they won't pay attention to you guys," Beckett told them.

"You're sure?" Rebecca said in surprise, looking at her. "You remember what happened last year to you two."

"We didn't mean us too," Castle said. "But we're hoping that doesn't happen again either."

After another twenty minutes the mayor began to speak and the guests turned to listen to her.

"Good evening everyone," the mayor said, smiling at everyone in front of her and those beyond. "Tonight we celebrate our local police forces and I welcome the police chiefs who are here to represent them. We also have a special guest with us tonight; please join me in welcoming Washington DC Police Detective Patrick Darnley who is a former NYPD officer and who bravely rescued Senator Sumner last week."

Castle looked to his wife as her friend stepped out to the mayor and smiled at her shock before they heard someone clearing their throat. "How did you make it up here?" he asked Nkosi who'd walked up to them while they were distracted.

"We have connections," the man said with a wide smile on his face. He hugged Beckett then as the mayor was explaining what Darnley had done for Senator Sumner in more detail and said, "We got the invitation the day after you guys left and we said yes."

"I'm so glad you did," Beckett said. "How long is she going to speak?" she said as they looked over at the mayor.

"She's done, believe me he wants to see you," Nkosi said as his husband was allowed to leave then, heading over to them.

Darnley didn't really care that people were watching him as he ran the last few steps to Beckett who met him. He hugged her, literally picking her up and spinning her around as she cried out slightly. "I had to do that," he told her teasingly.

"I don't blame you," Beckett replied as she was still laughing. She hugged him tightly and then said, "I'm so glad to see you."

"Not as much as I am," Darnley said. "Let me look at you," he told her as he let go of her and turned her around.

"Never saw her in a gown?" Castle asked her.

"Not like this," Darnley replied. "You look amazing," he said, hugging her again. "Sorry, I thought it'd be summer until we'd see each other again."

"Don't worry," Beckett said, embracing him back as tightly. "We should introduce you two to everyone else."

"Yeah," Darnley said before he turned to Castle and shook his hand warmly. "I'm glad to see you again; she looks happy still."

"I told you I'd do that the best I could," Castle told him, clasping his hand on the man's shoulder briefly before he did the same to Nkosi.

Since dinner wasn't being served yet Beckett could introduce the two men to everyone, surprised no one else in the ballroom was trying to come over to speak to them. She introduced Darnley to Lily last, wanting to see how they interacted since she had been close friends with Lily before meeting Darnley.

"So you're Lily," he was saying to the woman as they shook hands.

"Kate told me you'd talked about what we would do when we were younger," Lily replied with a wide smile. "Thank you for watching out for her back then."

"I get that a lot," Darnley said. "So you're the Hamptons group."

"You make us sound like a band," David said wryly. "Or a bunch of investment bankers."

Laughing the four couples sat down as they could see employees coming around with drinks and Nkosi was the first to speak saying, "Rick and Kate told us about you all as well."

"Not that much," Castle said quickly. "But some stories."

"Kate told us you have a daughter," Rebecca said.

"Is this where we share pictures?" Darnley asked though he was already getting his phone out of his pocket. "That's Maddy," he said as he gave the phone to Lily first.

"She's adorable," the woman said with a smile. She gave the phone to her husband and asked, "You adopted?"

"We did and we are right now," Nkosi said.

"Any word on your son?" Castle asked.

"We got a call before we left," Darnley said. "And Keo is our son."

"I'm so glad to hear that," Beckett said, reaching over and squeezing his arm tightly since he was to her left. "When will you be getting him?"

"We're going down to Louisiana to pick him up on the second of next month," Darnley said. "So we're in an eager anticipation."

After the others had seen pictures of both Maddy and Keo they were giving their orders for dinner and while they waited the Fosters and Davises showed Darnley and Nkosi their children.

"I was interested in seeing Mari, since Julia's talked about her a lot," Darnley said.

"They're very good friends," David said.

"Best friends," Castle said. "I wonder if they managed to see each other tonight."  
"You didn't get a call from your daughter asking if ours could spend the night?" Rebecca asked Beckett.

"No, I think Julia took the fact that your parents are there to see your girls seriously," she replied. "But I'm sure next weekend…"

Laughing Rebecca said, "Oh of course."

After she had calmed down from laughing with her friend Beckett saw that Darnley next to her was looking around. "What is it?" she asked.

"I'd heard that Fletcher was Commissioner here," he answered. "That's not true is it?"

"You know the Police Commissioner?" David asked.

"He went to Academy but was a year ahead," Beckett said. "So we don't know him, just of him."

"And we'd heard of him from Agent Jacobs," Darnley said, sipping at his wine. "He's bi you know."

"Jacobs?" Beckett asked, surprised since she'd known that already. "Wait, Fletcher?" she asked in shock, pointing over her shoulder with her thumb.

"How many people had a differing sexuality from straight at your academy?" Castle asked when Darnley nodded to his wife's question.

"Just us," the man said simply. "Out of… fifty each class?" he said, looking at Beckett questioningly.

"About that," she said with a nod. At that point they were being served so she stopped talking and she then said, "But I wonder if he's keeping that secret."

"You don't keep up with things here?" Darnley asked.

"You could ask the boys," Castle said.

"We read the _Ledger_ though," Beckett contradicted him. "And there was nothing in there about this."

"Not that it matters," Castle said quickly.

"I could care less," Beckett said, nodding her head to her friend.

"Not that it matters to your job," Brad said.

"Just out of curiosity-" Darnley started to say to the chief.

"One, Hutchinson," Brad said. "She's a woman," he then added after a pause.

"Great for her," Darnley said. "I am the only gay person in my station."

"The entire station," Rebecca said.

"It just happened that way," Darnley said with a shrug.

"What about you?" David asked Nkosi since he realized they'd been focusing on talking to his husband more.

"I'm not the only one, there's a gay woman-" the man started to say.

"Not Skye," Darnley added.

"Not her, but there's a woman and another man," Nkosi said. "And every investigation we do a dance with plenty of jazz hands." He wasn't surprised when everyone but his husband looked at him in surprise but was startled to notice when Castle and Beckett quickly recovered. "You've heard that before? Skye?" he asked before he realized he'd answered his own question and said her name.

"Yeah," Castle said. "Why that one congressman thought that's what gay NTSB investigators do… who knows."

"I remember hearing about that," Lily said in realization. "That guy was a douche, oh my god, how did Skye keep from strangling him?"

"No clue," Castle said. "But we should get back to better territory-"

"Nice, I think you mean subject," Brad said to him.

"I'm a writer, I have to get synonyms," Castle said, pretending to slam his hand on the table.

Beckett began laughing and said to the others, "If our kids saw us right now they'd wonder at our sanity."

"I'm wondering that myself," Rebecca said with a laugh. "But I think Rick is right, how about a new subject?" When the others had agreed she said, "How did you two meet?"

"Nothing especially exciting or romantic," Darnley said since she'd been looking to him and Nkosi. He shared a look with him and then explained about their meeting and said, "We know how Rick and Kate met but what about the rest of you?"

Beckett, listening to their stories though she'd heard them already with Castle, smiled at her husband when he gently squeezed her shoulder. She placed her hand on his thigh and squeezed it gently before she said to Lily, "I always thought it was funny that you had the most banal meeting."

"There's nothing wrong with meeting at work," Lily said in mock annoyance. She then smiled and said, "It was romantic. I think all of us can say we met romantically."

"But which is the most romantic…" David said.

"Oh… come on Dave," Rebecca said in mock annoyance. "You can't put a value on that."

"As a cop I'll say Rick and Kate's," Darnley said.

"As a former cop I'll say it was coincidence," Beckett said.

"No coincidence in murder love," Castle told her. When she looked at him he smiled widely before the others were talking and they joined in the conversation which had somehow slid into their kids without them realizing it.

When the meal was completed and the music began to play Beckett wasn't surprised when Castle turned to her and asked her in Irish if she wanted to dance. "I'd love to," she told her husband. She then held up her index finger to indicate to him to wait before she turned to Darnley. "You're with me next," she told him.

"Yes ma'am," the detective said, saluting playfully.

" _So you're happy love_?" Castle asked as they went to the space cleared out for the dance floor with the other couples.

Smiling at his use of Irish Beckett nodded and said, " _Extremely. I'm with you, our friends… you_."

"Ooh, _so I'm that important am I_?" Castle asked exaggeratedly, loving the way she laughed.

" _I think you are_ ," Beckett replied, smiling at him as they swayed, their arms around each other by then.

"I think she's very happy," Nkosi was saying to his husband as they watched Castle and Beckett together. "See? No need to be concerned."

"I know," Darnley said with a slight sigh. "I just wanted to make absolutely sure. And now since I've done that I'm content she's alright."

"You're a good brother even if you aren't hers by blood," Nkosi said. "Come, let's dance Patrick."

Pressing her cheek to Castle's at that point Beckett could see that her friend and his husband were dancing together as well. "I love seeing him so happy," she told her husband.

Turning his head to look where she was Castle smiled and said, "He is, I agree. Are you going to worry about him now?"

"Not any more than I would normally," Beckett said. She then turned back to her husband and said softly, " _They're watching us_."

" _I noticed_ ," Castle said, nodding his head slightly. " _But just ignore them_."

Beckett glanced quickly at a group of women near the bar that was set up and then couldn't help smile as she pressed her cheek back to her husband's. The jealous look on two of them was a little startling but she didn't care, she knew who her husband was going to pay attention to that night as he was holding her tightly against him. When the song ended they pulled away and she kissed his lips quickly telling him, "Take me to Patrick."

"Of course," Castle said, leading her over to the two men who'd begun to walk over to them. "Okay Darnley," he said jokingly to the man as Beckett went to him. "Some ground rules-"

"No ground rules," Beckett interrupted him, rolling her eyes in mock annoyance. She and Patrick started to walk to the dance floor before she turned around and said to her husband, "Dance with Trevor if you'd like."

"She was kidding," Castle said.

"Oh don't worry, it's not I don't want to dance with you," Nkosi said, smiling at him. "But I don't dance with men who don't want to dance with me; if they're uncomfortable especially."

"We can just watch," Castle said. "Nothing wrong with watching."

"I'm used to that," Nkosi said. They were quiet watching their spouses dance before he then said, "He's been worried about her still."

"She's done the same about him," Castle said. "But hopefully this'll satisfy them both about their well being."

"And that they are keeping in touch like they said they would," Nkosi pointed out to him.

"That's true," Castle said, nodding his head firmly. He then turned his attention to Beckett and Darnley, smiling as he could tell the two were talking and wondering what they said as they began to gently laugh as they continued to sway together while they danced.

"You know one thing I remembered?" Darnley said to his friend. "Just randomly since I felt so nostalgic with you?"

"Would you just tell me?" Beckett said to him teasingly.

"Remember that party we went to and for some reason we started doing improv?" Darnley said.

"Oh god," Beckett said with a laugh. "I remember, why did we do the whose line game? And I should correct myself to ask why did I do it. You were wasted."

"You were nearly there," Darnley protested. "Buzzed and a little giddy."

"No I wasn't," Beckett replied. "I've never been giddy."

"Liar, liar _pantalones_ on fire," Darnley said immediately. When she just looked at him he then burst out laughing with her and then said, "Okay, sorry. You were buzzed at least and it was fun wasn't it?"

"It was but I'm just so glad my mother in law couldn't see how I was in that 'scene'," Beckett said as they were walking back to their spouses then since the song had ended.

"What scene?" Castle asked as he'd been close enough to hear that.

"She and I used to watch _Whose Line Is It Anyway?_ " Darnley replied. "The British version first since I'd watched that from the early nineties and then we watched the American version."

"Did you do improv?" Castle asked his wife interestedly.

"We did, it was a party with a few of our fellow classmates and also friends of theirs, at least… four who were improvers," Beckett said.

"We drank a bit and then they started up some games," Darnley said. "I was not more than a little drunk and mentioned I loved the game whose line and we got roped into it."

"You roped me in," Beckett said, rolling her eyes.

"I would have loved to have seen that," Rebecca said as she, her husband and the Davises had joined them.

"It was stupid I was awkward and just… got the scene done as fast as I could," Beckett said, shaking her head in slight embarrassment.

"She's not kidding," Lily said to the others. "We were had to do a scene from Shakespeare in English and she was very unhappy."

"I'm not an actress," Beckett said very simply.

"You have some talent," Brad said. "You have to if you're going to keep things from suspects."  
"That would mean you do too," Beckett said.

"That's true, thank you," Brad said teasingly to her. "Want to dance?"

"Sure," Beckett replied, turning to quickly kiss her husband's cheek before she took Brad's outstretched hand to go to the dance floor.

"Okay, Lily?" Castle asked, turning to her as Nkosi was taking Rebecca to the dance floor. When she walked with him he went next to Brad and Beckett and said, "I like the addition of another couple. More partners to dance with."

The other three laughed before they began to talk together as they danced, Nkosi and Rebecca soon joining them. They didn't care that other pairs around them were looking at them oddly as they did so since they were enjoying their night too much to really care while they kept moving to the music.

* * *

Embracing her friend as tightly as she could Beckett said, "You're so close, we could go home right now."

"Your home," Darnley said as they parted. He held her hands and said, "I'll get to your house at some point I promise… maybe Labor Day?"

"We'll try to get you here for that," Castle said as Beckett turned to look at him. He smiled when she smiled widely at him and then stepped over to where the limo was with the Fosters and the Davises in front of it. The ball was still going on but they were all in agreement that three hours there was long enough and by the time they'd managed to get to the sidewalk outside the building it was nearly three and a half hours. They'd all said goodbye to Darnley and Nkosi, his wife saying goodbye to her friend last while they waited.

"We will be there for your wedding… ceremony?" Darnley asked.

"We just call it the wedding, easier to say," Beckett said with a shrug. "We want to see Keo as soon as we can."

"We'll Skype once we're home," Darnley replied.

"What time is your flight tomorrow?" Beckett asked him.

"Hmm, early we leave at six thirty," Darnley said apologetically. "We didn't want to be away too long."

"I don't blame you," Beckett said. "We're leaving as soon as we can tomorrow morning."

"Which will be later of course," Darnley commented. When his friend shot him a look he told her, "I saw how you looked when you came in. How many times?"

Beckett didn't want to answer but she finally felt she had to, lifting her eyes to the sky as she groaned. "It was just once but… fast," she told him.

"That would explain why you're so happy," Darnley replied with a nod. He then hugged her again and murmured, "Trev and I did the same this morning so I'm happy too."

"Good," Beckett said, embracing him back. "Call me sometime this week and text me when you land back in DC."

"Of course," Darnley said. "Night Kate."

"Night Patrick," Beckett said, smiling at his avoidance of the use of a goodbye. She then watched him go, bringing her shawl more tightly around her before the cab Nkosi had hailed left with the two men inside. "I wish we could bring them back," she said as she turned to her husband who'd walked up to her then before they went to the limo.

"We'll see them again," Castle said in a promise to her before they followed their friends. "So what did you think?" he directed to Brad.

"I enjoyed it," Lily said before her husband could speak.

"A lot," Brad replied. "Mainly because I didn't have a lack of partners."

"Funny how you and Nkosi started dancing," David said.

"We were joking," Brad said. "Some idiot kept looking over at Nkosi and I knew he was either homophobic or racist so… why not?"

Shortly after that they'd reached the hotel where David and Rebecca were staying for the night and after they'd said goodbye to them Castle and Beckett were left alone with Brad and Lily.

"Tired?" Brad asked his wife as she leaned against him.

"That much dancing will take a lot out of you," Lily said. "But I did enjoy it."

"We'll try and get you to come back next year," Castle said. "If you want to come back with us."

"We would," Brad said. He smiled at Lily as she glanced at him and told her, "It's not often we get to do this."

"I agree," Lily said with a wide smile. She then kissed his cheek and said, "How was it for you two this year?"

"A little better than last time," Beckett said first. "No one trying to hit on us."

"Yeah, Patrick helped you out with that," Castle said with a smile.

"And you?" Brad asked him.

When her husband pointed to her Beckett rolled her eyes and Castle then said, "At least it worked. And we didn't run into the mayor either."

"That was a relief," Beckett said, nodding her head in agreement. She then noticed they were slowing down and she moved quickly to Lily, hugging her tightly saying, "See you back home at some point this week."

"I may see you two sooner," Brad told her as she hugged him quickly. "I'll call of course if it comes to that."

"Thanks," Castle said, hugging Lily with one arm before he shook Brad's hand. "Have a good night."

"Night," Beckett said before she followed her husband outside the limo. After they were in the building she held Castle's hand tightly, quiet until they reached the elevator and were heading up to their floor. "Tired?" she asked him softly.

"No are you?" Castle asked, turning his attention to her. When she shook her head he couldn't help lean down slightly and gently pressed his lips against her temple before the car stopped. He walked out calmly though his heart was already beginning to beat wildly and he managed to stay in control until they were inside the loft and the door was locked behind them tightly.

Pressed back against the door Beckett closed her eyes tightly as her husband began to kiss around her neck, sucking on her pulse hungrily before he moved up to her lips. As soon as they were kissing she wrapped her arms around him as tightly as she could, feeling him running his hands around her back before she stopped him by pulling her head away from him. "We-" she started to say before he was suddenly moving, picking her up.

Castle was surprised when his wife didn't protest that and he tried to walk as quickly as he could into their bedroom before setting her down. Once she was set he reached up to cup her face in his hands and he told her, "I couldn't stop looking at you Kate."

"I couldn't stop doing that to you either," Beckett replied with a slight smile. She met his gentle, brief kiss then and when they parted said, "Maybe that's why no one tried this time around."

"Maybe," Castle said, smiling at her widely. "Though again, they were looking over at us often."

"Are we going to spend the rest of the night talking about them?" Beckett then asked in amusement.

Castle's response to that was to lean down, taking his wife's lips with his own before their arms quickly slid around one another to embrace. At first he began to kiss her gently but they started to deepen it rapidly and they were soon outright dueling, heads tilting back and forth as their tongues seemed to dance a bit before they needed to breathe normally. "I wanted to do that when we were dancing," he said. "Drag you out to the balcony again and just… ravish you with my mouth."

Beckett pressed her lips to his lightly before telling him, "You make it sound like a romance novel."

Reaching behind her Castle started to unzip her dress and he told her, "I think we're in reality having more sex than they have in those."

"At least there's not so much drama," Beckett told him, her smile dropping off her face when her husband's fingers started to trail over her bare back. She was trembling at the shock his touch provided for her and she bit her lower lip hard as he leaned down at the same time, pressing very gentle kisses everywhere he could on her skin. When he moved away she whispered desperately, "That's all it takes."

"I know, for me too," Castle said. "Just a touch or… a look and I'm falling Kate."

"Falling?" Beckett asked softly as she helped him pulling the dress off of her shoulders.

"It's cliché but I guess I should say my desire starts so easily with you," Castle said seriously, letting the top of her dress fall around her waist and stopping there. "Little to begin it and…" he started to say as he put his hands on her sides. "More than enough to keep it going."

"I brought our book," Beckett said as she untied his bow tie. When that was discarded they worked together to get his jacket off before she was opening his shirt. Neither of them spoke until it was off of him and looking up at him she then murmured, "Let's see how long we can take your arousal."

Before she could reach for his trousers Castle took her hands and said, "What about you love?"

"I have enough," Beckett said though she was allowing him to push her dress off her hips before it was off of her. The second that he came back to her she was opening his trousers and together they took off the rest of his clothes without stopping. She then let him take her to the bed and as he hovered above her on his hands and knees she said, "More then enough now," running her hands over his bare chest. They started to kiss then, a little wildly, before they were slowly parting and then coming back together again to kiss very slowly and sensuously. "Hmm… it's hard to calm down when you're like this," she said to him.

"Here," Castle said, carefully pulling off her panties. He was going to go back to her as he was eager to since she was naked but then paused as he recalled something and left the bed. He knew his wife would figure out why he'd left her so he just tried to hurry as quickly as he could until he reached her again. "Here," he said, handing their _Kama Sutra_ to her, open.

Looking at the page Beckett bit her lower lip and said, "You'll be okay with this?" When his response was to lean down to her, kissing around her neck, she smiled and said, "Put it over there." As he was setting the book on her nightstand she lay back, waiting for him to rejoin her which he was luckily soon doing. "You're ready," she said to him teasingly as she noticed quickly he was grasping his arousal in his hand.

"More than ready," Castle said, grunting a little at the end when she reached down to hold him too. "I may not-" he began.

Beckett cut him off by slipping just the tip of him inside of her herself and they were both groaning in pleasure at the feel of it, shocks filling her body in response that translated into warmth. "Please…" she whispered to him as she then held him by the shoulders. She was pleased when he then slid into her the rest of the way and she cried out softly as more fire licked her form from between her legs where they were soon coupled. She then wrapped her legs tightly around his waist while he was pushing himself up above her on his hands and toes; as if he were about to do a push up. His first thrust had her crying out again, much louder and that time his name, before she tried her best to match his pace with the little leverage she had.

Castle closed his eyes tightly for a while as he moved within his wife deeply; slowly at first before he sped up as the seconds wore on; and he whispered her name a few times, wanting to convey with his tone how good she felt around him. When he felt her hands on the backs of his shoulders, gently digging her nails into his skin his eyes shot open and he looked down at her, watching the way the pleasure flit across her face. Shortly after that she began to do something with her legs that made him groan out her name loudly. She was straining them to pull him against her even harder when he would sink back inside her and the effect of it was more than just her legs, her sex nearly felt too tight with that and he told her so before she was leaning up and kissing him. "Kate," he gasped out.

Beckett leaned up and murmured his name, brushing her lips against him as he changed the angle of his hips slightly. The first strike he made against her clit nearly drove her over the edge, only the last bit of her self control could really keep her from doing so. She then comprehended that something was wrong with him and she asked, "Rick?"

"I… I can't stay like this," Castle said, his feet protesting the action as was his bad knee. "I'm so sorry-"

"I don't fucking care Rick," Beckett said as his attempt to keep to his rhythm while his body was protesting was stimulating her even further. "All I want… is to feel you! Let me feel you fucking me!" She gave a heavy gasp at the sensation of him suddenly lunging against her and ramming into her; far more easily she could tell; and was quickly after almost clawing at his back in an attempt to deal with the rush of joy that suffused every inch of her body. He was fast; which meant heavy friction and even more heat; he was deep; ensuring that she could feel him firmly against her; and he was passionate; his lips taking hers so hard that it was little time before her lips began to throb and slightly swell from the force which easily mirrored how he was taking her. She loved it and as soon as she could speak she told him, urging him to keep going before it turned into delighted begging.

Waiting for her to finish up her begging Castle then told her as he kissed wildly around her neck and breasts, "How does it feel my love? I could stop right now… drive you insane wanting more. I don't want to but I will, I have to."

Startled Beckett groaned in frustration when her husband then stopped and she said, "Why?"

"You're too much," Castle said before he leaned down further and began to kiss around her breasts, staying there. He felt her reaching down to his head and feeling her nails raking over his scalp he shuddered, loving the sensation of it before he began to suckle at both her nipples. He groaned against her while he was busy doing that, lapping at the taut nubs before he forced himself away. He knew that Beckett was struggling against him and an idea came to him before he told his wife, " _Tell me_."

"T-tell you what?" Beckett asked in slight surprise as at the same time he'd reached in between them to rub her clit gently. She took his kiss that he gave her then, enjoying that immensely, so that when they stopped she almost forgot what he'd said to her.

" _Tell me how fast you want me to move, shallow, deep; everything my love_ ," Castle told her, his voice husky as he couldn't stop his growing arousal at the mere thought of her doing that.

Though it wasn't the first time that they had done that Beckett couldn't help but quiver inwardly at what she could do with that command. Biting at her lower lip it took her a moment to then be able to say to him, " _Slowly… but then speed up and just try to get as deeply as you can_." When her husband made his first thrust; just as she had requested him to do; she cried out hard and his name at the same time, biting almost into her lower lip. "Oh god… this is why I need you…" she was moaning heavily in her pleasure as she did her best to move with him. "You've… you're the only one who's made me feel like this."

"You're the only woman I can have now Kate," Castle breathed out to her, managing just barely not to stammer or hesitate as he spoke. "I've never wanted… I can't worship anyone but you… my love…" All while they'd both been talking he was feeling her very constricting around him and the pleasure from that was intense, growing to be more so. "Promise me forever Kate… I need to know I have you."

"Yes!" was all that Beckett was able to tell him as things were quickly getting to be out of control. If her body grew any hotter she knew she was going to literally burn and the pleasure didn't stop. So there was no shock to her when she broke, only able to warn her husband in the way she called his name, before she was undulating crazily beneath him. The ecstasy he was giving her was intense and fast and she wondered how her consciousness didn't give up and let him overwhelm her. But soon he began to climax with her and it made her fight to stay aware of him, loving the feel of their bodies joined together with so much finality before she began to calm.

When Castle finally found himself doing the same and he was still he asked his wife, "Tired?"

Smiling at the question Beckett merely shook her head before she kissed him and they were soon tangling their tongues around each other. She wasn't surprised when neither of them stopped and her slightly smoldering arousal soon came to the forefront. As soon as they had parted she whispered to him, "Pick another."

Castle was startled but then he realized that she was serious so he carefully left her before he reached for the book. He went a bit towards the back before he stopped and showed it to her.

Considering it Beckett said, "You see what she's doing."

"Yeah, I see," Castle said. "If you want to go ahead."

Beckett merely handed him back the book and she kissed him tenderly before he turned to set it back on the nightstand. She waited for him to lie in her place and she then got on top of him, facing away from him. She knew the position, since they'd used it at least twice before, so she was on her knees leaning against his legs that were bent. Sliding her hands down she then held onto his ankles and she started to move against him and began to gasp slightly as her breasts were rubbing quickly against his thighs. She looked across from her and was a little annoyed at the fact she was looking at a wall. Breathing hard as the friction began to build up in her she looked back over her shoulder at him, seeing that he was up on his elbows watching her back.

Realizing then that she was looking to him Castle said, "You… you're more beautiful than a statue," saying it before he realized what exactly he was telling her.

A brief smile darted across her face before she told him, "When I'm like this?"

"Any time," Castle said, reaching up to her to run his hand over her back. He was startled at the way her eyes trailed down, since he knew what she was trying to convey to him, and he hurried to follow her desire he'd read in that look. Very carefully he cupped her ass and squeezed it before he started to stroke at her lovingly. He wasn't sure how long he was doing that before he nearly jerked up against her when he felt her reaching between his spread legs to cup him firmly.

Beckett couldn't help the second brief smile that spread across her face as he reacted to her and didn't stop groaning as she was gently massaging him, knowing what he enjoyed. She did that for a bit longer before she stopped and pulling away told him, "That was enough." When she got off him and turned around she wasn't surprised at his nod in agreement and she pulled him up so she could get on top of him again as they embraced tightly. They started to kiss while she straddled him and lowered herself before she started to move, rocking her body against his before pulling away to gasp in pleasure. She held onto him tightly while he pulled back to kiss at her neck before going back to her lips. Though the position before she'd moved was enjoyable, facing him was far more as it allowed her to feel more than just their bodies moving together. He was able to caress a lot more of her and kiss her consistently as he was doing at that moment. It was adding to the friction between them and she couldn't really get enough of it, trying to move faster on him.

"Love," Castle groaned as he felt her speeding up. He held her by the small of her back then, loving the sensation of how she moved along him, making him try hard to thrust in turn with her. While he was kissing her he was startled when Beckett moved him to her breasts and he glanced up at her before reaching up to cup one in his hand and then started to suck at her left mound. He felt her reaction to that as she shook and lost her rhythm quickly and he continued to do everything he could to her before he slowly pulled away from her. Raising his head he looked into her eyes and things seemed to freeze though they were still moving together rapidly. A second later they were grasping onto each other desperately and kissing frantically and he could feel them inching closer to the edge almost too rapidly.

When he pulled away from her Castle wasn't surprised when his wife stopped moving and he used that time to start running his hands up and down her back. "Yeah, I don't think we're going to leave very early tomorrow," he told her, watching her as his hands clasped together on the small of her back.

"We don't need to leave that early," Beckett said. She leaned down and kissed him deeply before they slowly parted some time later saying to him a little breathlessly, "Just long enough to make sure we're satisfied."

"That might take a while," Castle said. He took her kiss and fought playfully against her tongue that slipped into his mouth until he managed to push into her own. They slowly pulled away from one another and he reached for her hips, right before she began to move on him. He moved with her the best he could as he could feel her soon start to get a rhythm set and then moved to kiss her body, whatever he could reach of her. He groaned as the sensation of her silky skin and her sex around him joined to make his body heat up rapidly, caressing her soon after that. He felt her skin react to him, her react to him as well and he kissed around her breasts, focusing there for some time. He felt a heavy shock in the sensation of his wife's sudden change of how she was thrusting but took it in stride as they fell into another kiss.

Holding onto him the best she could as her movements became a little more erratic Beckett pulled away from her husband's kiss before she started to kiss at his neck that time. She felt his enjoyment in the way he held onto her back and she did that for a bit longer before she suddenly pulled away and looked at him, biting down on her lower lip. "Rick…" she whispered to him.

"I know I can feel you love…" Castle told her. "Come for me," he begged her. "I'm so close… I want to come right now… with you love… in you Kate… Come now!" he groaned finally, unable to take it anymore.

It was a final push and Beckett took it, letting herself fall over the edge as he held her securely in his arms. Crying out Castle's name repeatedly she could feel wave after wave of ecstasy saturating her entire body, searching out all of it, and she wasn't sure how she was still moving but knew her body was taking it over. She held onto him tighter, nails digging into his skin, as she felt him beginning to orgasm as well. They were kissing and holding onto each other tightly and she moaned as it didn't seem to stop.

Castle was trying not to pass out from the pleasure that filled him at the sensation of his wife's body taking his release from him, luckily just managing to keep from doing that. He wasn't sure how much longer they were thrusting together only that finally she stopped, slumping against him, before he followed and just managed to not fall back on the bed. Stroking her hair he said, "Okay?" When she only nodded he felt a bit worried, starting to pull away, before she moved first and crushed her lips against his letting him know why she hadn't replied.

Kissing frantically Castle and Beckett caressed and fondled one another before they were aroused enough to begin all over again. With her laid out on the bed Castle began to take her eagerly as Beckett responded in turn. They had no idea how many times they would be together in the end that night, not caring about the number as they just wanted to feel in that moment how they were as one.

* * *

Sitting back down on the bed after looking out the window to check the weather the next morning Beckett looked up as her husband walked out to her and she asked, "How come you're not limping?"

"It's not as if we were doing acrobatics last night," Castle said. Handing his wife her mug of coffee he then said, "What is it?" as she had suddenly looked to him in concern.

"How's your knee?" Beckett asked.

"It's fine," Castle reassured her, sitting next to her on the edge. "Like I said, we weren't performing acrobatics. Though you did enjoy what we did right?"

Smiling Beckett leaned over to him and murmured, "I did, immensely."

"Perfect," Castle said before they kissed deeply. When they'd parted he said, "I don't know."

"I had a slight hope that we might have calmed down after last night," Beckett said. She saw he'd paused in drinking his coffee and told him, "I don't want to stop, just calm down a little."

"Yeah… maybe another week or so will help us out," Castle said. "But you know I get the feeling this is because we can do this now."

Thinking about that for a moment Beckett then said, "More than likely. We'll try and handle this for the time being."

"Just like we've been doing since we got home," Castle told her. "So now that we've finished with DC…"

"There's Japan, I remember," Beckett said, smiling at him. "But really Rick, there's a month still until that. We need to really focus more on our book."

"Okay then you want to talk about the book now?" Castle asked. He wasn't surprised when she rolled her eyes and said, "So no book, then what should we say?"

"Drink your coffee," Beckett told him teasingly. She watched him smile at her over the rim of his coffee mug and she drank her own in a few sips before she finished it a bit after that. As soon as she had finished she got onto her knees and wrapping her arms around him told him, "I never told you but I loved this past week since we came home; having you there with us."

"I loved being there," Castle said. He recalled something and said, "Are you sure you want to do that book tour later this year?"

"We already agreed to it and we did talk to the girls about it," Beckett said. "They're okay with it as long as we're staying together."

"I just want to make sure," Castle said before he kissed her gently. "You know I love you Kate."

"I love you too Rick," Beckett replied with a smile. "And after last night I love you just a little bit more."

"Yeah, I… really wasn't expecting to get you to pass out twice," Castle said, pressing his forehead against hers.

"Maybe I was hoping for that," Beckett told him.

"Vixen," Castle breathed before they kissed one another deeply though not for very long. When they'd parted he asked, "Do you want to get ready and go?"

Beckett didn't answer that and instead kissed her husband once more before they were involved much longer than the previous kiss. When they finally parted she murmured, "Not just yet Rick."

"One more?" Castle asked her, feeling the arousal in him starting to rise even more than it'd been since he'd woken up.

"One more," Beckett began as he took her mug. "For now."

Turning to her Castle murmured in Irish that he loved her, pleased when she responded in kind and in the same language before they were together pulling off her robe.

The second that she was naked again Beckett pulled her husband back to the bed with her and they lay down, very shortly coupled together tightly, beginning to make love as they kissed one another fervently.

Castle and Beckett from that moment on began to in a way celebrate being back together as their lovemaking grew more intense. They took advantage of the fact that they weren't anticipating being separated for some time and did so pleasurably, trying to delay the end of their bout for as long as they could. They were unable to do anything else being so intimately involved with each other while everything seemed to disappear except for the two of them and their shared passion.


End file.
